We’re excited to share that the Phoenix Zoo’s female baby Masai giraffe officially has a name — and it’s Kasi!  

Kasi means “speed” in Swahili, and she’s already living up to it. Recent videos captured in the giraffe barn show Kasi zooming around her mom, Sunshine, proving that she’s quick on her hooves and full of personality.

While Kasi is still spending time behind the scenes with Sunshine, guests won’t have to wait too long to meet her. She’s expected to make her debut on the Zoo’s Savanna habitat sometime in January. For the very latest updates (and plenty of adorable video moments), be sure to follow the Phoenix Zoo on social media.

We can’t wait for the community to meet Kasi and watch her continue to grow!

Voting lasted one week with five names to choose from below. Just over 11,000 votes were cast, and Kasi won by nearly 30% of those votes. 

The options were:

1. Cyra: means “sun” in Persian/Greek
2. Tesni: means “warmth from the sun” in Welsh
3. Binti: means “daughter” in Swahili
4. Kasi: means “speed” in Swahili (because of her zoomies)
5. Ray: like a ray of sunshine