Giraffe gets bespoke trailer for move

Much time in our lives can be spent on trying to figuring out how to get from A to B - for Jabali the giraffe that included creating a bespoke trailer.

Jabali was born nearly two years ago at 1.8 metres high (6ft), according to Auckland Zoo's website.

The offspring of female Kiraka and male Billy, he was the was the tallest giraffe at birth and keepers believe he inherited the genes of his grandfather.

"Transporting a giraffe is really tricky," the zoo's deputy curator of mammals, Amy Robbins, told RNZ's Midday Report programme today.

It was important to transport giraffes as early as possible before they got too tall, she said.

"Males can get in the excess of five metres, so that would be logistically impossible to drive a five-metre giraffe down the road to Hamilton.

"We wanted to do it while Jabali was still a reasonable height."

The bespoke transport trailer has an extendable roof, could also be used for zebra, waterbuck, nyala and other ungulate species, and could take a total weight of 1850kg.

Robbins said Jabali was "incredible" during the journey.

"He was so calm, so relaxed, very chilled out, just took it all in his stride.

"I drove behind him the whole way and he just stood facing out the back ... there's a little area where he can see out the back ... and it didn't seem to bother him at all."

Robbins credited Jabali's keepers who spent a long time helping him to get used to the trailer.

"He's just a really lovely little giraffe."

Once he got to Hamilton Zoo, he stayed in the trailer for about 40 minutes before stepping out to explore his new home.

Jabali was joining a bachelor herd of giraffes at Hamilton Zoo and would continue to play a vital advocacy role for his species.