Benito the Giraffe Looking for Love After Long Journey

Conditions at Central Park, a humble city-run zoo in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, were not ideal for at least one resident, a 4-year-giraffe named Benito. The young male had only about a half acre to wander within a small enclosure, very few trees to nibble on, and within a climate no giraffe is accustomed to – brutal heat in the summer and freezing cold in winter.

After months of pressure from animal-welfare groups in Mexico, Benito was moved to Africam Safari park in Puebla, some 1,200 miles away. His 30-hour journey was made easier in a 16.5 feet container specially designed for Benito, who was accompanied by a team of conscientious caretakers. 

Quickly after arriving at his new digs in Puebla, Benito settled in just fine. He was quarantined for a bit while staff ran an array of tests, which revealed intestinal parasites for which he was treated. His diet has been duly upgraded, and Benito is fitting right in by all accounts.

“We’ve seen an incredible change in this giraffe’s attitude,” Frank Carlos Camacho, head of Africam Safari, said in a press conference. “His eyes open much wider, he’s smelling all his surroundings, licking the walls, looking for the females.”

That was before Benito was even introduced to the resident giraffes. He was first introduced to antelope, dromedaries, impalas, and ostriches. Then he joined a small herd of his own kind – a family of seven with a mom, pop, and children giraffes. “He was perfectly welcome into that group,” says Camacho.

They call Benito coqueto, or flirtatious, because of his amorous manner in greeting his new lady friends, duly recorded by local media. With over 1000 acres in which to roam, he should have plenty of opportunities for finding love, as the mood strikes.

Photo credit: Milenio via Instagram