A 90-year-old tradition of SA families visiting giraffes at the Adelaide Zoo is almost over.

For the first time in 90 years there will soon be no giraffes to call the Adelaide Zoo home as sisters Kimya and Dharba get set to move out of the city and into wider pastures.

For the first time in 90 years there will soon be no giraffes to call the Adelaide Zoo home.

Australia’s second oldest zoo is on the hunt for a new home for two of its most popular residents – giraffes Kimya and Dharba.

The pair have called the site home since 2006.

Their departure will herald the end to giraffes at the zoo – a favourite of generations of South Australian families.

The first of the endearing species, simply named A, arrived at Adelaide Zoo in 1929.

The zoo’s director of life sciences, Phil Ainsley told the Sunday Mail the zoo expects to have secured a new home for the giraffe sisters by the middle of the year.

Dr Ainsley said the current enclosure for the giraffes well exceeds minimum standards and, with comprehensive enrichments plans, the pair are happy.

However, he said that the zoo, which has recently been fully accredited by the Zoos and Aquarium Association of Australasia, wants more for the animals.

“The welfare of the animals that call Adelaide Zoo home is at the forefront of all that we do,” Dr Ainsley said. “We’re continually striving to improve our animals’ habitats and this forms an integral part of our master plan for the site moving forward.”

Giraffes Kimya and Dharba at Adelaide Zoo. Picture: Adrian Mann/ Zoos SA

The giraffe’s enclosure was given an overhaul and doubled in size after a fundraising effort following the infamous break-in in 1985 when teenagers killed 62 animals.

Dr Ainsley said simply moving the giraffes back to Monarto, where they were born before being relocated to Adelaide in 2006, was not possible because of the zoo’s legal responsibility to ensure the best breeding outcomes for Australia and New Zealand.

“We have identified a potential new home for the duo and are in negotiations with an Australian facility,” he said. “We hope to have an answer regarding their transfer within the next six months.”

The Zoo will no longer house giraffes. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

The zoo has also vowed to find a new home for its residents sea lions, Ady and Tasko, or build them a better home for them this year.

“We are closer than ever to finding a suitable home for the pair and are hoping to have an answer before the middle of the year ..... if it’s found the facility in question is for some reason unable to rehome Ady and Tasko, we will commence planning an upgrade to Seal Bay immediately,” he said.

Last year the Sunday Mail reported thousands had signed a petition calling for an upgrade of the seal enclosure.

As part of a two-decade vision for the site, the zoo is also planning a new state-of-the-art enclosure at Adelaide for lions that will be around three times the size of the existing exhibit.