Brandon Meets Brandon

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom played icon match-maker Thursday and introduced the baseball player Brandon Belt to a baby giraffe that shares his name.

A male giraffe calf born last Friday in Vallejo was named after the Giants rookie.

The human Belt has been nicknamed "baby giraffe" by announcer Duane Kuiper, who noticed a resemblance during an awkward catch a couple weeks back. The name stuck and now giraffe hats are becoming the "in" headgear at AT&T Park.

Brandon has embraced the name. He said meeting the animal was a thrill.

"This morning has been one of the best mornings of my life.  To have a newborn giraffe named after me, let alone me standing side-by-side him, it’s amazing,” said Belt.

The giraffe Brandon Belt is currently 6’2” tall.  The human Belt is 6'5".  The animal will quickly grow past his human namesake growing to upwards of 18 feet. 

Six Flags says the birth is the second successful offspring of seven-year-old mother Makali, a reticulated giraffe, and the sire, seven-year-old Nyumekye, a male that had been on loan from Safari West in Santa Rosa. 

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