‘He’s a bit of a dude’: Mtundu draws crowd at Mogo

Mtundu’s arrival at Mogo Zoo in February this year made headlines as he was transported from Auckland Zoo to his new enclosure in the Eurobodalla.

After a month in quarantine, the young giraffe is drawing quite a crowd.

Operations manger and zookeeper Rob Clifford said the 21-month-old had proven to be a hit with visitors.

“He’s a bit of a dude and he likes people, so he’s often at the fence,” Mr Clifford told the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner.

“People have followed the story and you’ll often get kids here for the giraffe feeds and they’ll want to know who they saw on the road and TV.”

Despite taking a little time to settle into the herd’s routine, Mtundu has adjusted to life with his new family, Mr Clifford said.

“He doesn’t annoy the girls as much when he first came in – he was just being a bit of a teenage boy,” Mr Clifford said.

“He has settled in now and is doing everything that a young giraffe should do.”

However, the biggest challenge for the young giraffe seems to be standing his ground among the herd’s older females.

“He’s got a couple of ladies in there who will be like, ‘No, you go away. This is our food,’” he said.

“But, he’s a trier, I’ll give him that.”

At 500kg, Mtundu still has some growing to do and is expected to breed with the herd’s three females when he reaches maturity.

“Watch this space over the next two, possibly three years,” he said.