Seventeen giraffes have begun their new lives in the new Giraffe enclosure at Tama Zoo. It sounds simple in words, but getting to this point involved 57 days of wits and patience between Giraffe and animal keeper. This is the story of the summer spent by these 17 Giraffe and their 4 animal keeper.

Many animals take time to adjust to unfamiliar environments. To help Giraffe recognize their new home as a place where they can rest safely and eat delicious food, we used both Giraffe old and new Giraffe enclosures simultaneously, allowing the move to proceed gradually. However, a Giraffe Giraffe who always act together, don't easily cooperate as we expect.

It all began on July 27th. When we prepared branches and leaves in the paddock (concrete exercise area) of the new Giraffe enclosure, several young Giraffe slowly entered, treading carefully as if to test the feel of the floor. At the slightest sound, they would flinch and run back to their herd. Yet, perhaps out of a sense of morbid curiosity, they seemed intrigued by the new place and the delicious food, cautiously entering and then running back out. They repeated this many times. It was clear that Giraffe, experiencing a new environment for the first time, were concentrating all their senses.

Up until now, when the young Giraffe were startled by something, they would look at the calm adult Giraffe and think, "Ah, everything's okay," and feel reassured. But this time, the roles were reversed. Not only the adult Giraffe, but we, the caretakers, were also helped by the young Giraffe' curiosity and actions.

By September, most of the giraffe herd was able to enter and exit the paddock and rooms of the new Giraffe enclosure, but there were still three giraffes that couldn't even get into the paddock. These were the three oldest giraffes in the herd. Adult Giraffe are very wary and sensitive to changes in their environment, so they couldn't take that first step and spent their days watching the others inside from outside the fence with longing looks on their faces.

From September 13th, the old Giraffe enclosure was closed, and the giraffes were finally moved to the new Giraffe exclusively. After various efforts such as adjusting feeding methods and using treats to lure the three giraffes in, they finally overcame their fears on September 15th, 21st, and 23rd, and after 57 days, all three were finally able to move in. Since then, the three oldest giraffes, who took so long to get used to, have settled in calmly as if nothing had happened. However, it will likely take a little more time for both Giraffe and their handlers to fully adjust to the new Giraffe.

I couldn't write about everything here, but these 57 days were a long, long summer in which everyone overcame various events, including the birth of a child, the death of the oldest "Sazanka," and the joining of a parent and child group.

Detention scene	The state of the room

[Saito, Animal Care and Exhibition Staff, North Tama Zoo]

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(October 28, 2022)