Construction is underway on a giraffe feeding platform at the Greenville Zoo. The project includes a new ramp that will lead to the back of the giraffe exhibit where the new feeding structure will be built.
While construction should be complete by May 1, the experience of feeding a giraffe will begin sometime during the summer. “Giraffes are a little timid,” said Zoo Director Bill Cooper. “They’ll see this new thing out in their exhibit and they’ll gently explore it at first and then eventually get used to it. We hope to complete training and have them ready to interact with the public in June.”
The project budget of $400,000 was raised privately through the Greenville Zoo Foundation and a large contribution from donors Jim and Janice Cordes. “We live about less than a mile from here and we come down to the zoo fairly often and wander around and talk to the animals and they all talk back,” Mr. Cordes said.
The project fits well with the mission of the Greenville Zoo, to provide an enjoyable guest experience while supporting and promoting conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all living things.
“This is the most popular experience that you can offer at a zoo,” Cooper said. Kids love it. You will see all kinds of funny things that happen in the giraffe encounters that will make you laugh and smile. As a child, the first time that a giraffe leans down and takes that food from our hand, you’re going to remember that for the rest of your life,” he said.
The zoo is home to Masai giraffes Miles and Autumn, who are part of the Species Survival Program, and have produced multiple calves in the past decade, including Kiko, Kellen and Providence.
Visit www.greenvillezoo.com for more information.
Prepared by the City of Greenville.