Page 31 - Southern Oregon Magazine Summer 2019

WHAT’S NEW cont... Ride it

WILDLIFE SAFARI again.

Celebrates birth of third giraffe calf

iraffe parents Miya and Mate are celebrating the third giraffe born at Oregon’s only drive-
Gthrough animal park. “One thing we’re known for all over the world at Wildlife Safari is
our success in cheetah breeding, where we’re the number two most successful center on Earth,”
explains the park’s executive director, Dan Van Slyke. “But we participate in species survival
plans for a lot of different animals through our AZA accreditation, and the public may not be
aware of that.”
Wildlife Safari successfully breeds many of the native and exotic species on display at the park,
including giraffes. “We got into the giraffe programs just a few years ago to help bring baby
giraffes to the Douglas County and Southern Oregon public. We’re fully committed to our
work as an attraction in rural Oregon, and we’re incredibly blessed and thankful for being able
to do this work here.”
The calf, a girl, was born in the evening hours of Wednesday, May 29 standing five feet, ten
inches tall. “Like her sister, Sally, who was born last year, this little girl is happy, healthy and
acclimating well to life,” says Dan Brands, the park’s general curator. “And she’s ready to con-
tribute to the increasing variation of the genetic pool of captive giraffes in the United States—
one of the primary focuses of the giraffe breeding programs.”

Wildlife Safari works closely with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival
Plans to make sure that those animals born at the park fit into a national vision of needed
genetics, research and conservation. “By working with and researching giraffes in captivity, we
better understand the challenges facing giraffes in the wild, whose populations are declining at
an alarming rate,” Brands says, “and by having giraffes on display at Wildlife Safari, or in other
zoos across the country, the goal is to make a personal connection between people and giraffes If joint pain or
to inspire a commitment to that giraffe’s cousin in the wild.”

Wildlife Safari is planning to announce the name of the new calf soon, and the “little” one will a sports injury
be able to journey out into the world sooner than her siblings simply because she was born later is holding you back,
in the year. The park will begin offering baby giraffe barn encounters in the coming weeks, and
more information on meeting the calf can be found online or by calling the park. the experts at Asante

www.wildlifesafari.net Orthopedic Surgery and
Sports Medicine can help.

Call today for an appointment.

Asante Orthopedic Surgery
and Sports Medicine
269 Maple St., Ashland
(541) 482-4533

537 SW Union Ave., Grants Pass
(541) 507-2050

Keith Thomajan Rick Anguilla

19OSM001_SOM

summer 2019 | www.southernoregonmagazine.com 29