SHE’S the gangly, sweet-faced 1.9m-tall baby who has melted countless hearts in Perth since her arrival last month - and now she has a name that suits her to “perfection”.

Meet Kamili, Perth Zoo’s newest star attraction. The female giraffe calf has been gifted with the name which is the Swahili word for perfection.

Camera Icon Baby Kamili (4 weeks) with mum Kitoto at Perth Zoo. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper

The sweet moniker was chosen by zoo staff out of about 700 entries from a public competition that ran over three days on Perth Zoo’s Facebook page.

Kamili is the product of trans-continental matchmaking between her mother, eight-year-old Kitoto, transported 4200km to Perth from Sydney’s Taronga Zoo in December 2016, and the zoo’s sole giraffe bull, 15-year-old Armani.

Kamili arrived about 15 months later — which is the gestation time for a giraffe — meaning first-time mum Kitoto and Armani wasted no time getting down to the business of breeding after meeting.

Perth Zoo senior zookeeper Kaelene McKay said Kamili was a gorgeous choice of name and extremely fitting for the inquisitive calf, who is already developing her own personality, exerting her independence and getting to know her giraffe family — which includes another female Ellie — as well as other animals nearby.

Born about 160cm tall, Kamili has already grown about 30cm and is on a milk diet, though she has started munching on some branches. Her days are a mix of spurts of energy and the occasional sprint together with plenty of naps and close attention, cleaning and nuzzling from her adoring and protective 4.5m-tall mum.

“At four weeks old she’s already so tall, starting to get her own little personality and finally find those legs and know what to do with them,” Ms McKay said.

Camera Icon Mwah! Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper

“She’s very brave, she’s spending a lot of time away from mum, exploring her enclosure and definitely keeping an eye on that rhino that lives next door. She seems to have a bit of a fancy for him, she sticks her head through the fence and has a look at him most days.”

Ms McKay said it may not be long before a sibling for Kamili is on the way, with Armani already starting to show interest in Kitoto again.

Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said the world-renowned team at Perth Zoo should be proud of their success as part of Australia’s regional breeding program. He said it was important the community was given the opportunity to celebrate this important birth.

Once she’s about 12 months old and weaned off her mother, there’s every chance Kamili will be moved to another zoo in Australia to continue the breeding program that aims to stave off extinction of these beautiful creatures. Fewer than 80,000 wild giraffe remain in Africa, a 40 per cent decline over 30 years.

But for now, Kamili’s become Perth Zoo’s biggest drawcard. Over the Easter long weekend, 13,600 people flocked to the zoo.