PUEBLA, Mexico (AP) — A 4-year-old giraffe named Benito arrived Tuesday at his new home in a large animal park in central Mexico. Now starts the hard part for the gangly post-adolescent: fitting in with the other giraffes in the neighborhood.
The 7.5-acre (3-hectare) enclosure at the Africam Safari park in central Puebla state already has seven giraffes, including three females.
Benito, who was transferred following pressure from animal advocates, has spent the last year totally alone at a dusty city park in the northern border city of Ciudad Juárez. As he enters adulthood, as with many species, he may have to quickly develop some social skills.
He currently is being held in a tall-roofed medical evaluation room at the park, after his 2,000 kilometer (1,200 mile) trip from Ciudad Juárez in a crate on the back of a flat-bed truck. The park wants to move him out to meet the rest of the herd as soon as possible, possibly within a couple of days.
“He has been alone for a long time, and it is going to take us a few days to introduce him to the rest of the herd,” said Frank Carlos Camacho, the director of the Africam Safari park. “But even so, we believe this is a very stable herd and that they will accept him.”