A BABY giraffe, born just weeks ago at Flamingo Land now has a name after members of the public were invited to make their suggestions.

The female calf will be called Sophie, a popular suggestion after visitors to the park, near Pickering, likened her to the much-loved tot’s teething toy ‘Sophie la Girafe.'

“We have been inundated with name suggestions for our new addition, and visitors to the park have enjoyed watching her explore her surroundings with parents George and Lizzy and three other Rothschild giraffes. ” said the zoo's director of marketing Sarah Mills.

The selected winner of the competition was Karen Trattles from Bingley - whose own four-year-old daughter Sophie thinks “all girl giraffes are actually called Sophie.”

She won a family ticket to the theme park and zoo for a day, as well as a VIP feeding encounter with the Rothschild giraffes so they can get a close up view of the calf that they have named.

Sarah added: “Other visitors to the park can enjoy viewing our collection of Rothschild giraffes and discover more about these amazing animals during our daily keeper talk which takes place at noon each day.”