Dallas Zoo celebrating Kopano the giraffe’s first birthday today

The Dallas Zoo is celebrating the first birthday of Kopano the giraffe today.  Once a long-legged, 6-foot-tall, 120-pound newborn, the popular giraffe Kopano has skyrocketed to a 10-foot-tall 760 pound teenager.

A generous donor gave $50,000 to name the calf, then decided to let the public decide on the name. Five days of online voting drew more than 10,000 votes, with Kopano, which means “united” in Botswana, getting the most. The $50,000 was donated to African conservation groups helping giraffes in the wild.

The Dallas Zoo is located at 650 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway.