Graceful Giants…Giraffes

Watching giraffes is such a peaceful experience. Every time I witnessed a giraffe in the Safari, I felt a small joy in my heart. According to Scotty giraffes are deceptively fast. We aren’t talking cheetah fast, but clocking in at a top speed of 37mph makes the giraffe one of the fastest land animals. It doesn’t hurt that they have such long legs. In fact, those long legs allow each step of an adult giraffe to be around 15 feet.

Giraffes are large animals. Their legs alone are nearly 6 feet long. Combined with their body, giraffes tower over other animals at a final height between 16 and 19 feet. This makes drinking water quite interesting because their long necks aren’t able to reach the ground. Instead, giraffes kneel or spread their legs, so they can lower their body to get water.

We never had the opportunity to see a giraffe drinking water or fending off an animal. Had they needed to fight off a predator, the giraffes would first try to run away and then would employ a karate kick to fend off animals. The kicks are pretty powerful and can break bones.

In the pictures below you’ll see seven giraffes standing together. At the time of the picture there was a threat of a nearby predator. Every time a potential threat occurred in the Safari, the giraffes would stop eating and stand absolutely still. They would face the direction of the threat together and wait until there was an all clear. Once the all clear would come in, the giraffes would return to eating.

Giraffes seemed to be flourishing in the bush as we came upon them quite often. We saw many adorable calves close to their moms. It’s always a good sign when the babies are able to evade another animal’s mealtime.

Scotty mentioned when the male giraffes age, their spots become darker. That surprised me, but this change communicates both dominance and the physical condition of the giraffe. I always thought of this fact as I was watching the giraffes.

On one of our last days we met a giraffe that was not well. It looked like termites had built their home on the giraffes legs and underbelly. I know that wasn’t what it was, but that’s the best visual I can provide. Taking time for minimal Internet research, the web calls the condition Giraffe Skin Disease. Sadly, it appears to be an emerging disease in Sub-Sahara regions.

As much as I would expect this particular animal to fall prey to the lions, Scotty said that animals can often detect when an animal they hunt is not healthy. Many times they even avoid those animals. I wonder if that is why this giraffe looked like it had been carrying the disease for a while. Though it’s been a few months since my trip, I still think of that giraffe and wonder how it is doing.

Friends, spending hours watching the giraffes would definitely be considered a successful day even if we hadn’t had the abundant wildlife experiences you’ve seen in earlier posts. I always looked forward to this particular success and loved having time with the graceful giants—the giraffes.