Dallas Zoo names newborn giraffe after Jason Witten

The Dallas Zoo honored Jason Witten by naming one of its newest animals after the retiring Cowboys tight end.

On Friday, a day after Witten officially announced his retirement from the NFL, the zoo revealed its newborn male giraffe calf will be known as Witten.

"We're shifting from our typical tradition of naming a baby after its native heritage to honor a Texas legend and all around great guy," Gregg Hudson, Dallas Zoo's president and CEO, said in a statement. "Our zookeepers were the first ones to jump on this naming opportunity. We're all huge fans of Jason, he's a real role model – on the field and in our community."

The 5-foot-9, 145-pound giraffe was born on April 25, and is expected to make his public debut within the next couple of weeks. The zoo hopes his namesake will come out to meet him.