Blair Drummond Safari Park welcomes endangered male giraffe

An endangered male giraffe has been welcomed into a Scottish safari park for the first time in 10 years.

Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park near Stirling introduced Sifa, a five-year-old Rothschild's giraffe, to its grounds on Wednesday.

The park estimates there are only about 2,000 of the giraffes left in the wild.

Originally living in Dublin Zoo, Sifa was transported by sea to Wales before travelling another 337 miles (542km) to Blair Drummond.

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He has so far met new companions Harriet, Bella and Ruby, with the park saying the four are already getting along well.

Rothschild's giraffes are one of the most endangered species of giraffe.

The overall giraffe population spanning all species has dropped by about 30% since the 1980s, with an estimated 117,000 left in the wild.

They are also taller than many other populations, measuring up to 5.88 metres (19.3ft) tall.

Sifa arrived at Blair Drummond Safari Park from Dublin Zoo on Wednesday evening

Suzi Marshall, team leader for large mammals at Blair Drummond Safari Park, said: "We are thrilled to welcome a new male into our giraffe tower.

"We are used to having an all-female group, so we were a bit taken aback by how tall he is, he's a good couple of feet taller than all our girls.

"We wanted to make him feel welcome as soon as he arrived, so we laid out a delicious dinner of willow.

"He made himself right at home and started tucking in right away."