New Cincy zoo baby giraffe now named Lulu

CINCINNATI (AP) — A new baby giraffe at the Cincinnati Zoo has been named Lulu.

More than 2,800 people voted online to name the week-old female calf, choosing Lulu over Mara and Rosie.

Lulu is Swahili for “precious.”

Giraffe-keepers had narrowed more than 5,000 name ideas submitted from around the world down to those three choices.

Zoo officials say Lulu is doing well and bonding with her mom and dad, Tessa and Kimba.

The public got to see the baby for the first time on Monday after she was born three days earlier in a process that zoo officials live-Tweeted.

Lulu is the second giraffe born at the zoo in more than 25 years. The first, Zuri, was euthanized last year when it was 3 months old after suffering a debilitating leg injury.