The No. 1 book in new releases in children’s zoo books on Amazon is making a giraffe at Gladys Porter Zoo a celebrity.
The book “Rocket the Space Giraffe” was inspired by Rocket, a four-year-old giraffe currently being raised at the zoo.
The book is written by Harlingen resident Suzanne Shepard, who is also president of the Valley Zoological Society for Gladys Porter Zoo.
“I was inspired by the real Rocket who is one of our amazing giraffes at the zoo,” Shepard said. “I love all the animals, but she is my favorite, she is one of a kind, she’s friendly, so she inspired me to write the book.”
Shepard said she decided to write the book after attending World Giraffe Day last year at the zoo. She chose to feature Rocket in her book because she got to know the giraffe and got to see her. “It was just a really special experience and that’s when I decided to write the book.”
“Rocket the Space Giraffe,” is about a giraffe that explores the moon and the stars in her rocket ship along with her best friend Cosmo, who is a ring-tailed lemur. “They follow their dreams and have fun along the way,” Shepard said. The book is illustrated by Tilia Rand-Bell.
The book also contains information on the real Rocket at the zoo, giraffes, lemurs, and conservation.
The book was published July 11, 2022, and on Tuesday, it was ranked No.1 on the new releases children’s zoo books on Amazon. Shepard and GPZ are excited about the ranking.
“It is very exciting, I am especially excited because all of the proceeds from the book go the Gladys Porter Zoo and they are going to go to the care and feeding of the real Rocket and all the animals at the zoo, so that makes it even more special,” Shepard said.
Rocket got her name during a 2018 Zoofari fundraising event. John and Mary Muratore matched a zoo donation and had the honor of naming the baby giraffe and named her Rocket. John Muratore worked at SpaceX at the time and Mary chose the name, zoo officials said.
Rocket is approximately 8 1/2 feet tall and weighs 1,100 pounds.
Walter DuPree, mammal curator at the Zoo, has known Rocket since the giraffe was born and said that although most giraffes are relatively gentle and have their own personality, Rocket happens to be an exceptional giraffe.
“She is very gentle, she likes people. Usually, they put up with people, but they don’t like it, but she seeks out human attention. She doesn’t like to be pet that much unless you happen to know her,” Dupree said.
She like the other giraffes love it when the public has the chance to feed them. The public has the chance to feed the giraffes on the weekends.
There are nine giraffes in the exhibit right now.
Rocket knows the zookeepers and when they are walking along the zoo she will come to the front of the exhibit and stare at them. “She is just a really friendly giraffe with everybody, not just with keepers,” DuPree said.
Rocket recognizes her name when the zookeepers call her, and she learned her name just about the same way household pets do such as dogs. “If you say it 100 times, they say oh okay,” you are calling me, Dupree said.
DuPree said he loves the idea that Rocket is featured in the book and if he had to choose one animal from the zoo to be featured it would be Rocket, because of her personality. “She is so outgoing the way she is and how she likes people. She is curious so it would be perfect for her.”
“She is such an exceptional giraffe. She doesn’t come 100 percent of the time but when you go over there, and if a giraffe walks over right away that will be Rocket,” he said.
The mammal curator said he hopes Rocket being featured in the book will help draw more people to the zoo to learn about not only the giraffes but other animals at the zoo.
“I like the fact that Rocket can be an ambassador for the giraffe species. They really need help, and they need understanding. People have to understand what we are doing to this world, not only are they being poached for just their tails but as we expand and are doing things, we don’t always have a plan,” Dupree said. Poachers use the giraffe tails as a flyswatter.
When developments are going up in forests and other places, “you are taking away places for these animals, so I am hoping we can educate the next generation,” he said.
Besides being available on Amazon, the book can also be purchased at the GPZ gift shop. The book will also be available during the zoo’s Kids Appreciation Day on Aug. 6, and Shepard will be doing a book signing on that day.
