Taronga Zoo has welcomed Jimiyu, an 18-month-old giraffe brought from Dubbo's Western Plains Zoo to join Sydney's tower of females.
A small crowd gathered to watch as the 700kg calf was unloaded from its custom-built truck container on Wednesday.
"It's a little bit heartbreaking," his handler Pascale Benoit said.
"There is a bond between Jimi and I.
"He put a lot of trust in me today, and I trusted him too. You do form a bond, but not a bond as such that you can't let go."
Ms Benoit also hand-reared Andara, another Sydney giraffe who she tries to see as often as possible.
"We do visit every now and then. When I do I'll come down here to check up on the kids," she said.
Taronga chose to add a male giraffe to their tower of four females because of his size and social role, but not as a part of their breeding program.
Jimiyu, whose Swahili name means born on a summer's day, is related to some of the giraffes in his enclosure, and he has been castrated to minimise complications.
"If we need to breed an animal, we can get resources from anywhere on the globe," said Taronga spokesman Mark Williamson.
"They'll let the girls out today and they'll come over for a look," Mr Williamson said.
"Especially Andara, she's really curious."
Jimiyu will get to know his surroundings before being let into the females' enclosure on Thursday.