EAGER animal lovers have been stretching their necks to get a look at Marwell Wildlife’s newest arrival.

Zookeepers were delighted to welcome the newborn baby giraffe, Kwame (pictured).

The animal was born at the zoo to mother Isabella and father Kismet. His name means ‘born on Saturday’ in Twi, a language spoken in Ghana, west Africa, and he was born on a Saturday, on June 6.

The name was chosen via an online vote conducted on Marwell Wildlife’s website and it received more than a quarter of all votes cast, 562 out of 2,205.

Head keeper for the giraffes, Ian Goodwin said: “Kwame is the first giraffe born at Marwell to be sired by Kismet, our breeding male.

“Kwame is a really beautiful giraffe and hopefully he will grow to be just as big and strong as Kismet, who at 17ft is the tallest of all of our giraffes.”

Kwame is never far from his mum and can be seen at Marwell Wildlife, near Winchester, now. During the last few weeks the giraffes, led by Kismet, have been exploring ‘African Valley’ their new home which they share with Grevy’s zebra, ostrich and waterbuck, all animals that they would naturally mix with in Africa.

The name as Kwame was ‘neck and neck’ with Sekani throughout the poll and won with just 11 more votes. The other names in the vote were Louis, William and Merlin.