February 3, 2010
WINNING NAME ANNOUNCED IN BABY GIRAFFE NAMING CONTEST AT
SIX FLAGS DISCOVERY KINGDOM
Jabari, a Swahili word that translates to strong, powerful and valiant, is the winning name in Six Flags Discovery Kingdom’s Baby Giraffe Naming Contest.
The winning name received 34 percent of the votes cast by the public to the park’s web site over a
nine-day period ending last Friday. It won from among the top five names chosen from a field of over 650 entries. Mosi, which means "first born," came in second place with 27 percent and Kendi, "the loved one," received 21 percent of the votes. The two remaining names, Zuberi (13 percent) and Zawadi
(five percent), came in fourth and fifth respectively.
The contest rules stipulated that only one winner would be awarded the grand prize of four complimentary admission tickets, a framed photo and giant giraffe plush animal. There were, however, four entries that submitted the winning name. From these, one was picked randomly to receive the grand prize. The winner is Mim Quine of Fairfield.
The park will be awarding each of the three duplicate entries with a smaller giraffe plush as a consolation prize. These winners are Serena Melo-Chew of Sacramento, Cori Eelis of Redding and Bridget Dickinson of Petaluma.
Now eight-weeks-old, the almost seven-foot-tall male reticulated giraffe weighs 240 lbs, having gained more than 100 lbs. in the past six weeks. The calf is being described as extremely curious but somewhat laid back and when he's not playing with his water bucket or testing out his galloping skills, he's usually napping. While Jabari will continue to nurse with mother Makali for several more months, he has already started munching on hay — his first solids — and the occasional grass or other greenery he can find on his limited excursions outside his heated barn.
The public can see Jabari when the park opens for its 2010 season on March 6. For more information, visit sixflags.com/discoverykingdom.
About Six Flags
Six Flags is a publicly-traded corporation headquartered in New York City and is the world's largest regional theme park company with 20 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
