Six Flags Giraffe Calf Named After SF Giants Ballplayer

A giraffe born Friday at Vallejo's Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has  a San Francisco Giants connection after he was named Brandon, after the team's rookie outfielder Brandon Belt.

Belt has unofficially been dubbed "Baby Giraffe" by Giants announcer Duane Kuiper -- not be confused with the team's third baseman Pablo "Panda" Sandoval. Six Flags park officials saw it fitting to name their own baby giraffe after the human version.

Brandon, the giraffe calf, was born just before noon at the park, located at 1001 Fairgrounds Dr., to his 7-year-old mother Makali, a reticulated giraffe, and to the sire, 7-year-old Nyumekye. Brandon's father had been on loan from Safari West in Santa Rosa, officials said.

Giraffe Brandon is 6 feet 2 inches tall and will eventually grow to more than 18 feet tall, with a neck that will be at least 7-feet long.

Park officials said naming the giraffe after Giants player Belt would create a "unique kinship between the two unrelated species."

Calf Brandon and human Belt are expected to meet privately by the end of this week. Giants officials have told park officials that Belt has embraced his giraffe moniker.

The reticulated giraffe is recognized by its polygonal patterns outlined by narrow cream-colored lines. The giraffe -- one of nine subspecies  -- is native to northeast Africa, Somalia and northern Kenya, according to
park staff.

- Bay City News