Elizabeth LaFleur

elafleur@greenvillenews.com

The Greenville Zoo has a new resident.

The zoo welcomed a 7-year-old male Masai giraffe named Miles this week.

Miles was born on January 30, 2009 at the Houston zoo. His move to Greenville was recommended by the Giraffe Species Survival Program. Miles is expected to breed with Autumn, the mother of Kiko and Tatu, who were born at the Greenville Zoo in 2012 and early 2016.

Kiko and Tatu's father, Walter, was transferred through the Giraffe SSP to Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, NJ, to join the bachelor herd there.

Zoo Administrator Jeff Bullock says Miles will undergo a 30-day quarantine period before he moves into the exhibit with Autumn and Tatu.

“Miles is settling in well, and while he was hesitant to enter the barn at first, once he saw Autumn, he went right in,” Bullock said. “He is much taller than we expected and has some of the longest legs I have ever seen on a giraffe.”

Until he is placed on exhibit, Miles can be seen on the Zoo's Giraffe Cam.

Greenville's newest giraffe named