GUWAHATI: On Sunday morning, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the birth of a female giraffe calf at the Assam State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden and asked netizens to share a name for the giraffe calf.
“Happy to share that the Assam State Zoo has been blessed with a cute baby Giraffe just three days ago. Any suggestions for naming the new born?” Sarma had posted on X, formerly Twitter, and shared two photos of the calf.
Someone wants to name her Maloti; another wants her should be named Apoorva while yet another believes Himanta is a befitting name.
Her roots are in Africa but she is an Assamese by birth. The netizens wasted no time in coming up with names.
“If it’s a male then Bapukon, if it’s a female then Maloti is my suggestion,” a user wrote replying to Sarma’s post.
Another user said, “Apoorva – it means rare in Sanskrit. Giraffes are rare in India. So, my suggestion is Apoorva.”
Yet another user wrote that ‘Himanta’ will be an apt name. “Himanta will be a good name. You are cute too sir,” the user suggested.
How can cricket be far in this season of cricket? Some suggested that the calf should be named after the Man of the Match of Sunday’s cricket World Cup final.
Divisional Forest Officer Ashwini Kumar, who is attached to the zoo, said everyone in the zoo was ecstatic considering that this is the first time that a giraffe was born in the state.
“It’s a healthy baby. Her mother is also fine,” Kumar told TNIE.
The calf is the offspring of Vijay and Vijaya. Under an animal exchange program, Vijay was brought from Mysore in 2019 and Vijaya from Patna in 2022.
“It’s a great moment for all of us in the zoo,” Kumar added.