New surroundings for Mandy

Press, 29 January 1988, Page 3

New surroundings for Mandy

By

JANE DUNBAR

With gentle turns of her long aristocratic neck a one-year-old giraffe took in her new surroundings as she arrived at Orana Park yesterday. Having travelled all the way from Melbourne by sea, she seemed remarkably calm and yet alert as she gazed down on people rushing round below. Wanting to give her time to settle in, the director of Orana Park,

Mr Paul Garland, decided to leave her in the crate for a couple of hours before opening the doors. Her legs were a bit wobbly and he did not want her to run out and damage a leg. After lunch the door of the crate was left open, and she ventured out straight away. She walked very deliberately at first, moving each leg with care. She had a bit of a look around, sniffed at the entrance to the new gir-

affe house, and later settled down for a rest. Called Mandy, for the moment at least, the young giraffe is on a breeding exchange from Melbourne Zoo. The programme is to ensure the long-term survival of her species. She has joined Orana Park’s three other giraffes, a breeding pair, Celeste and Jaffa, and their daughter Sarita. Sarita will be the first to be introduced to the new arrival when Mandy is allowed out of isola-

tion in about two weeks. They will then all live together in the park’s African Plains area where animals roam in large areas separated by natural barriers. Like Sarita, who was adopted by the ANZ banking group from birth, Mandy has a corporate sponsor — Davis Gelatine. The company is the latest to become involved in conservation in a positive way through Orana Park’s Park Pals programme.