New Jersey gets new residents all the time, but rarely do we get a trio like Kamau, Lincoln, and Milo. Three ridiculously adorable giraffes recently moved into West Orange's Turtle Back Zoo and will be ready for their closeup on May 17 as part of a $7 million exhibit that's been in the works since ground broke on the project last summer. It'll be Turtle Back's largest exhibit to date.
The giraffes' digs include a 200-foot-by-100-foot exhibit area and climate-controlled barn on a three-acre plot of the zoo meant to replicate the conditions of giraffe's native African Savannah (yep, right on Northfield Avenue) and will also include multiple viewing areas so we humans can admire them for a while. And you'll even be able to keep an eye on the long-necked trio when you and the kids are grabbing a snack since the Zoo Café will be live streaming video from closed circuit cameras from inside the giraffes' barn.
According to Zoological Society of New Jersey Executive Director Adam Kerins, wild giraffe populations have plummeted by 40 percent since 1999 and those behind the project are hoping that it will tell the plight of the giraffes and hopefully inspire more of us to become advocates on behalf of these stunning animals.
The downside? If your kids were bugging you for a puppy before, get ready to have to say double no to getting a baby giraffe.
Turtle Back Zoo, 560 Northfield Avenue, West Orange
