Sometimes a reporter really needs to stick their neck out to get a good interview. For CBS 8 San Diego reporter Ashley Jacobs, this wasn’t one of those times.
“What is happening? What is happening?” was all Jacobs could say as the 9-month-old Masai giraffe, named Bairdi, leaned in for some nuzzling on live television.
The Huffington Post reached out to the zoo to answer that very question.
“He could have had an itch he was trying to take care of as he had just scratched against the truck post prior to this,” San Diego Zoo Safari Park keepers said. “Ashley also may have had perfume or other scent on her that he was trying to rub (not mating related). It also could have just been misplaced or redirected energy from wanting more bottles as we had allowed Ashley to give him water in a bottle just prior to this.”
The broadcast on Monday was meant to raise publicity for the Zoo Food, Wine and Brew Celebration, a gala and fundraiser for wildlife conservation.
Jacobs, being a professional, took it all in stride.