Giraffes-Gentle Giants

The giraffe is one of my favorite animals in South Africa-but there are many to choose from!

They are fascinating animals. I am certainly not an expert-I know enough to be dangerous. But I learned they are basically gentle giants. They are the most “tame” of the wild animals you will see on a safari. One giraffe enjoyed drinking out of the swimming pool each morning-he had no fear of ambling in to our “motel” area (very nice accommodations, by the way!).

Giraffes do not seem to mind having people around. You can see from this picture that our friend was not in any hurry to let us pass down the road. We had a great time taking pictures.

Giraffes do not seem to have many enemies (other than lions, of course) and they are not aggressive towards other animals. I understand they will defend their young by trying to kick you if you get too close but they will not charge you just because you are hanging out in their area (as a number of animals will).

I cannot understand why there are giraffes. They certainly do not blend in to the landscape-rather, they stick out like a sore thumb! I guess their purpose is to keep the trees trimmed since they certainly do not prey on other animals, despite their very large size.

I like to think God put them on this earth just for our enjoyment-or maybe to point out what a sense of humor He has…

What do you think? Please add your comments by clicking on the above title, “Giraffes-Gentle Giants”…

Raymond Pechacek lives in the U.S. and is married to a wonderful South African lady (BG!). He writes about the people, customs, wildlife, and places of South Africa, runs a consulting firm to help companies improve their global trade processes, and imports products into the U.S. - with an emphasis on supporting South Africa!