Video Shows Baby Giraffe Arriving at Oregon Zoo

He's 2 years old. He is 12 feet tall. He is Buttercup, and he is the newest addition to the Oregon Zoo. Buttercup is a Masai giraffe.

Buttercup was born two years ago at the Santa Barbara Zoo in California. At the time, he was 6 feet, 8 inches and 186 pounds. He was able to stand upright — with a little help — 50 minutes later.

While at those dimensions, he likely could have started for most NBA teams, the zoo tried to find him a good home.

Which brings him to the Oregon Zoo. And to do that, zoo keepers transported him in an extra-tall trailer with cameras so they could keep an eye on him.

Buttercup arrived in Portland Wednesday. He will spend the next month or so adjusting to his new home. He will eventually meet the zoo's other giraffes — Bakari and Desi — as well as other animals that he will share space with such as Speke's gazelles and ground hornbills.

Masai giraffes — the largest giraffe subspecies and the tallest mammals on earth — can grow to around 18 feet tall. Other impressive stats include: tongues up to 21 inches long, running speeds of up to 35 mph and the ability to eat up to 75 pounds of leaves and brush a day.

Around 120 Masai giraffes live in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, as part of the AZA’s Species Survival Plan for the species, a cooperative program aimed at ensuring a sustainable, genetically diverse population in North America.

“That’s barely enough to sustain a healthy population into the future,” said Oregon Zoo deputy director Sheri Horizsny, who serves as the SSP coordinator for giraffes. “Every Masai giraffe we care for is critical to keeping this species alive, and Buttercup is especially important, genetically speaking, because he has very few relatives in zoos. Our hope is that he will start a family of his own one day.”

Horiszny, a longtime giraffe benefactor, has founded three conservation initiatives to help these animals in the wild: Care for Karamoja, aimed at improving the lives of people, giraffes, ostriches and other wildlife in Uganda’s Karamoja region; Jeans for Giraffes, which generates funding for giraffe conservation through public donations of used jeans; and the Giraffe Conservation Alliance, one of the first giraffe conservation nonprofits in the United State

Visitors to the zoo should be able to meet Buttercup later this fall.