Guest blog writer, Cindy Faber,
shares about her experience at the Giraffe Center and Elephant Orphanage in Karen, Kenya.
One of my favorite animals is
the Giraffe. Perhaps it's because they are so tall and graceful, yet awkward.
Whatever the reason, I'm totally in love with them. Especially after visiting the
Giraffe Center in Nairobi where we had the chance to get up close and personal
with Eddie and a couple others.
Eddie is the Alpha male
Rothschild giraffe we got to feed while at the Center. Unlike the female,
Daisy, he was gentle and patient. Daisy on the other hand, was a bit of a brat.
Don't turn your back to her or you will get a head-butt from her. She only
wants the food you have, not your affection.
The Rothschild species are
considered one of the tallest giraffes. They can be 20 feet in height and
can weight about 2,500 pounds. They are also one of the most endangered with
only a few hundred left in the wild. All of those living in the wild are
in protected areas in Kenya and Uganda.
Besides being an educational center, the Giraffe Center acts
as a breeding program for the Rothschild giraffe with the goal of enlarging the
population of wild giraffe in Kenya.
Elephant Orphanage
My other favorite animal is the
Elephant. I love that they are family oriented. They live in family groups led
by the matriarch (the oldest female). Touch is extremely important to
elephants. Young calves and mothers will often be seen touching one another –
expressions of reassurance and fondness and there appears to be a very real
expression of affection – even love.
The Orphans’ Project exists to offer hope for the future of Kenya’s threatened elephant populations as they struggle against the threat of poaching for their ivory, and the loss of habitat due to human conflict, deforestation and drought.
The Orphans’ Project exists to offer hope for the future of Kenya’s threatened elephant populations as they struggle against the threat of poaching for their ivory, and the loss of habitat due to human conflict, deforestation and drought.
For more information on the Elephant Orphanage, please visit
http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/index.asp.
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