When I was a kid I thought the most amazing, exotic animal was the giraffe. Tallest animal in the world... that astonishing neck... the eyes, those odd 'horns'...
I pictured them as an imaginative wonder.

Well, I just read an article that said the giraffe was the most boring animal to view on safari.

And while it makes sense that the predators get the lion's share of attention it also struck me that I've never noticed a giraffe mentioned on this forum.

What's been your experience?

We leave for our first trip to Africa in 10 days.

Hi Robert

Here is a link to an interesting "giraffe" thread that I started not too long ago. It was about giraffes in Zambia:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4

Sorry....I don't think the link works. The thread was titled

"Lower Zambezi NP"

Of course giraffes are mentioned on this forum. 136 hits for a "giraffe" search just back to September 2005 when I first started visiting here.

In fact two different human fatalities caused by giraffes have been reported on this forum this year!

Boring giraffes? Not on Fodors!
;-)


(nor in the wild in my opinion, although they don't chase their prey ... my first close encounter with a giraffe, it had a piece of wildebeeste spine in its mouth and I wondered whether giraffes might turn omnivorous in the right (WRONG!) circumstances... however, I was assured the giraffe was merely sucking the bones for minerals ... I still can't get the image of a giraffe hunting for prey ... of course with startled buffaloes, leopards and cheetahs running for their lives)

Return to earth....

A walking or running giraffe is the most amazing thing to watch and I'm fascinated every time I see them. And to see giraffes "necking" is incredible. And the babies, how cute they are! Here are some of the giraffes I have seen.
http://www.pbase.com/cjw/image/39546671
http://www.pbase.com/cjw/image/51296801
http://www.pbase.com/cjw/image/53742258
http://www.pbase.com/cjw/image/51296821
http://www.pbase.com/cjw/image/51455101 (click "next" to see the sequence of the giraffe drinking)

And when you think about a giraffe's body, they are even more amazing. Boring? Maybe in a zoo.

Giraffes boring? Not for me?

I love watching giraffes feeding high on the treetops, where no other animal can reach.

I love watching a giraffe run down the road with its legs that are twice my own height.

I love watching elephants dip down for a drink of water.

I love watching two male giraffes "necking" for dominance.

Nothing boring about giraffes to someone who has spent any decent amount of time viewing them in the wild!

Giraffes are one of my favorites.
So graceful and oh, those great eyelashes.
Beats me what the writer of the article was trying to get across. Why not past the link.

Hi Robert,
The national Tanzanian animal is very much well honored here and in Africa.

We sat for very long periods of time watching these magnificantly graceful creatures on our recent Tanz. trip. We have many pics. and videos of them stretching to reach the highest branches while eating, interacting with giraffes and other animals, amusing shots of them galloping all while birds are resting and hovering on and around them. Very cool animals with amazing markings.

Do check them out and enjoy your upcoming trip!
Sherry

sundowner - Fantastic photos. Really enjoyed them. Got caught up and looked at all not just the giraffes! Thanks.

Sundowner, Terrific photos!
Africa, thanks for the link.
Rocco, sandi & Sherry - you have poetry in your souls.

Thanks for the reassurance. We're looking forward to the trip.

we got to see a giraffe drinking water from a puddle and it was amazing to see..so much work! though not an "exciting" animal, they're beautiful and fun to watch.

I think giraffes are incredibly majestic, even more so when viewed on foot when you get a real sense of their height. My favorite are the reticulated ones.

I adore giraffes too! Infact LizFrazier (who used to be a regular poster here) named two giraffes in the Mara for Pete and myself on her trip a year or two back!!

Just as Rocco said, to watch these stately animals feed, run, drink and neck is amazing. I also recall watching in amusement as four adolescent male giraffes excitedly chased each other around a tree, penises standing to attention!

Nothing boring about the giraffe at all. There is nothing like seeing one run. Though seeing their neck fighting would have been an interesting, headache inducing experience!

If you have the bandwidh, you can see one cross the road in front of us, and a baby nursing in my Amboseli movie on

www.waynehazle.com/eastafrica/

Giraffes are very popular animals and not boring at all – especially not the killer giraffe at Aberdare Country club.

Those marauding giraffes with their murder-suicide pacts! Who knows what they'll be up to next?

Most beautiful "sight" I've ever seen: a group of about 15 giraffes lying down (or is that sitting?) on the shores of Lake Manyara, with two at either end standing sentry. Now that was an occasion for a wide-angle lens. Oh well. The image is burned into my brain.

Boring?? Wow! Nothing like seeing a herd of some 18 or more individuals mixed with zebra and even a cape buffalo against a background of green acacia or watching one "bend" to drink from a river or actually walking across a river.

I can't think of <i>any</i> animal that is boring. (Well, except maybe for the guy that sat next to me on a plane from Boston to Los Angeles last year.)

I couldn't wait to see my first giraffe, and I did indeed admire their grace when running or bending to drink.

But I have to say that I felt less empathy and less communication with giraffes than with any other mammal I saw on safari. I saw fire in the eyes of the big cats, warmth and pathos in the eyes of rhinos, a spark and keen awareness in the eyes of impala and duiker, beauty in the zebras, and amazing intelligence and soul in the eyes of elephants. But giraffes -- I saw nothing. A flat line.

I'm happy for all of you who enjoy the giraffes, but for me, I'm happy to keep on moving.

and giraffes are pretty cool up close.

I went to a giraffe sanctuary in Kenya and got to feed a few giraffes. Their tongues are rough and a little slimy... ok quite slimy.

Their necks and nothing but lean muscle

Regardless of how many trips to Africa i make......the first giraffe sighting for the trip always feels awesome!!! Spend lots of time observing giraffes.

My fav moment, was probably on a stay at Malamala, when a giraffe came out to the man made waterhole in front of my room to have a drink and stayed around for most of the afternoon.

Hari