Kevin has moved into his new bachelor pad at Hamilton Zoo.
After a cross-island road trip from Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch, he arrived at the zoo on November 13.
Kevin, a 2-year-old northern giraffe standing at a casual 4m tall, is joining two other lads: Jabali, also 2, and Masamba, the wise old member of the group, who’s 22.
Kevin’s relocation was all about biology, director at Te Kaaroro – Hamilton Zoo, Baird Johnson, said.
“He’s at the age where he’s a boy, and they have three girls over there [Christchurch], and it’s like mom and sister and other sister.”
“So he came over here.”
Since Kevin arrived, he has already begun settling into his new enclosure.
“He’s just looking around like, ‘Oh cool, there’s another giraffe that looks like me and is my age,’” Johnson said. “So that’s cool.”
He was too young to understand there were no girls at the Hamilton Zoo, Johnson said.
Transport via road was one of the only options available for moving the giraffe, Johnson said.
“You usually have to transport them before they’re over 2.”
“At the age of 2, they tend to be too tall, and the overpass is not just going to work.”
The process for moving Kevin was through the species management programme, which aims to match animals across various zoos, Johnson said.
“It is a diversity programme.”
Giraffes under human care were also living surprisingly long lives these days. Johnson said 17 counted as old, 20 as older, and 22 was basically giraffe grandparent territory.
“Males don’t usually last as long as females.”
Feeding them is a tall task.
The trio can munch through 50 to 60kg of plant matter a day, ungulate senior keeper Josh de Waard said.
“It keeps us at the zoo very, very busy.”
Their menu includes all sorts of tree branches.
Olive trees are a favourite, and even plants like ox-tongue — which most people would call a weed — are treated like a gourmet snack.
Training is also a major part of the job, de Waard said.
At Hamilton Zoo, the team spends a lot of time teaching giraffes about hoof care, which is crucial for their health.
“We train them to come into the area for snacks and teach them how to lift their hooves onto a block,” he said. ”
They’re also trained for regular health checks — including blood draws along their necks — and staff try to weigh them whenever possible.
In 2026, Kevin and the boys will upgrade to a new barn, boosting the zoo’s giraffe capacity.
The zoo’s ungulate team was one of its largest, with about 11 fulltime staff, de Waard said.
The group is made up of “passionate, highly skilled keepers” who specialise in caring for animals, including giraffes.
The Waikato Herald observed de Waard feed the zoo’s 22-year-old giraffe, which used its surprisingly delicate tongue to take the food from his hand.
The keeper said giraffe fur felt similar to a short-haired dog — more like a Labrador than anything exotic.
“They shed heavily in summer,” he said.
“So anyone touching them usually ends up covered in loose hair.”
De Waard said that while all three giraffes had their own personalities, Kevin’s confidence was already off the charts — and occasionally a bit of a handful.
“He’s a pretty confident individual, which definitely makes training… interesting,” he said.
“Right now he’s probably one of the harder ones.”
Kevin has even leapfrogged the others in boldness.
“What took Jabali three months to manage, Kevin smashed out on his second day here,” de Waard said.
“He’s going to be an awesome giraffe.”
Jabali is more of an “astronaut”, de Waard said.
“In the clouds.”
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. He previously worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive.