More than a pretty face. The Giraffes are some of my favorite animals of Africa

Check out the earlier blog posted describing the giraffes at the local Naples Zoo. How differently their wild behavior is when compared to the captive animals. In the Naples Zoo there is a group of male Reticulated giraffes.

Giraffes appear very elegant with long necks and legs, brightly patterned coats, large eyes, and a crown of horns. They seem elegant. You can see them eating vegetation and walking or gently lopping across the grass land or through the woods. They are very quiet with almost no voice. It is surprising that a 1400-pound 15-foot animal can vanish as it wanders through the brush and tree scape. We saw them nearly everywhere we went. They do seem to group together in small clutches or shorter animals may partner with them for added alert of predators. Even when they are solitary, they don’t seem to be the choice of lions. We did see the remains of one which apparently perished from dehydration or disease. Drought is a problem in eastern Kenya.

The giraffes seem more whimsical in their behavior than on casual appearance. Drinking seems almost acrobatic as they assume an oddly geometric balancing act and when done almost jump to a full standing position. The birds which pick insects from their skin may at times get a bit too aggressive. Look at the photo of a jumping giraffe. It looks like it is dancing on its hind legs as it tries to shake off the pesky bird. It was so amusing to watch this performance. The group behavior of the giraffe clan was startling. They can be tough combatants. During some sort of competitive behavior, probably mating, these animals showed some of their true skills. In a pugilistic competition two giraffes went about using their heads, necks, teeth, and bodies in a full-body contact fight. At first, they seemed to be necking which I thought to be friendly. During the next hour, they rapidly progressed into an aggressive slugfest whacking one another with their heads and horns into the torso, head, and hind quarters. They beat each other ceaselessly with full strength occasionally biting, butting, and pursuing. From our vantage point we could hear nothing except the concussive thud when they bashed each another. We moved on after what seemed to be the end where the two protagonists walked away from each other. There seemed to be a winner. The larger of them walked a little and the smaller left the field into the bush. Simply imagine the bruises incurred after the hourlong fight; a 60-pound head with horns swing on a five-foot-long muscular neck and a thousand pounds of animal force behind each blow. It was impressive and gave a completely new dimension into my imagined elegance of these creatures.

There are four giraffe species. I could easily identify two, the two others not seen are the Southern and the Northern.

The Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchii) is the tallest of all land animals and it is an extraordinary sight to see. The giraffe is known for its graceful movements and for being very picturesque. At top speed, the giraffe can run up to 50-60 miles per hour. Kenya is home to giraffe (sub)species. In northern Kenya you’ll see the reticulated or Somali giraffe. Particularly rare is Rothschild’s giraffe (about which there is ongoing discussion whether it concerns an actual subspecies). In southern Kenya, you’ll come across Massai giraffes. Massai giraffes are different from reticulated giraffes in that they have jagged spots on their bodies, instead of polygonal liver-coloured spots. Approximately 33,000 Masai giraffes live in this region and most of them live in small groups. Approximately 16 – 20 hours of their day is spent feeding. Their favorite snack are Acacia tree leaves. Their long tongues and lips skillfuly avoid the Acacia tree thorns to snack on the tree’s leaves. As long as they have fresh vegetation, they can go without water for weeks. Typically the male giraffes eat from the top branches of the Acacia trees and the females eat from the bottom branches. Their greatest enemies are hyena, lions and poachers. Their greatest defence is their ability to escape at high speed and if necessary they defend themselves with their powerful kick.

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