My daughter gingerly feeds Daisy, one of the female giraffes at the centre
My Mum took this amusing photo of a sign that can be seen inside the centre !
With their long eyelashes & delicate features, I think that giraffe must be one of the most elegant looking wild animals around !On our recent visit to Kenya just before Christmas, we decided to take our daughter to the Giraffe Centre (otherwise known as ‘The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Kenya’ which is a non-governmental, non-profit organization) on the outskirts of the city of Nairobi, which was founded by Betty & Jock Leslie-Melville in 1979 to protect the endangered Rothschild Giraffe species. At the time they founded the centre, there were only 130 Rothschild Giraffe left in the wild, as their natural habitat in Western Kenya had been destroyed by agriculture. (There are 8 sub-species of Giraffe in Africa & the Rothschild Giraffe is the most rare.)
Funds were raised to enable 4 herds to be moved to 4 National Parks and young giraffe born at the centre have since been relocated to various ranches, conservancies and game reserves within Kenya. As a result, there are now around 500 of the rare Rothschild Giraffe in Kenya.
The sanctuary (which incorporates the Giraffe Centre) consists of 100 acres of indigenous forest which used to be part of a much bigger forest which once surrounded the city of Nairobi. There is a 1,5 km nature trail which you can walk and bird and tree identification walks are also available. The main purpose of the centre nowadays, is to educate people (focusing on the Kenyan youth – they have many school programmes & field trips) about this rare species and about the importance of conserving wildlife and natural habitats.
The Giraffe Centre has a huge raised wooden building with outside platforms which you can walk around so that you are on the same level as the giraffe, and their handlers provide you with special pellets which you are able to feed to them. The giraffe are all free to roam in the bush, and are not enclosed in small spaces at all – when they hear the rattling of the tin bucket containing the pellets, they come wandering over to the wooden building to be fed. I was amazed at how gentle these huge creatures are when they lick the pellets from your hand, and you can stroke them just as you would a horse. Their tongues are a deep purple/black colour, & the theory goes that this is to protect the tongues from sunburn when they are reaching up high on trees for leaves.
As the tallest animal, the males reach heights of 5,5 m and the females 4,5 m – that’s really tall ! They live until the age of 20 to 30 years, and can run up to 55 km per hour. When they run it is a beautifully elegant movement, which looks like they are running in slow motion. (Another interesting point to make about the Giraffe, is that they are our national symbol here in Tanzania, and as a result are protected and are not allowed to be hunted at all).
If you are ever in Nairobi – especially with children – a visit to the Giraffe Centre makes a nice morning or afternoon trip. Aside from being educational (& the children being able to have their photo taken up close with the world’s tallest animal !) there is also a tea garden where you can have some light refreshments, and a gift shop which you can browse in afterwards. Your entrance fee will also help contribute to the centre and to the long term conservation of the Rothschild Giraffe.
You can view the official site of the Giraffe Centre over here.
Funds were raised to enable 4 herds to be moved to 4 National Parks and young giraffe born at the centre have since been relocated to various ranches, conservancies and game reserves within Kenya. As a result, there are now around 500 of the rare Rothschild Giraffe in Kenya.
The sanctuary (which incorporates the Giraffe Centre) consists of 100 acres of indigenous forest which used to be part of a much bigger forest which once surrounded the city of Nairobi. There is a 1,5 km nature trail which you can walk and bird and tree identification walks are also available. The main purpose of the centre nowadays, is to educate people (focusing on the Kenyan youth – they have many school programmes & field trips) about this rare species and about the importance of conserving wildlife and natural habitats.
The Giraffe Centre has a huge raised wooden building with outside platforms which you can walk around so that you are on the same level as the giraffe, and their handlers provide you with special pellets which you are able to feed to them. The giraffe are all free to roam in the bush, and are not enclosed in small spaces at all – when they hear the rattling of the tin bucket containing the pellets, they come wandering over to the wooden building to be fed. I was amazed at how gentle these huge creatures are when they lick the pellets from your hand, and you can stroke them just as you would a horse. Their tongues are a deep purple/black colour, & the theory goes that this is to protect the tongues from sunburn when they are reaching up high on trees for leaves.
As the tallest animal, the males reach heights of 5,5 m and the females 4,5 m – that’s really tall ! They live until the age of 20 to 30 years, and can run up to 55 km per hour. When they run it is a beautifully elegant movement, which looks like they are running in slow motion. (Another interesting point to make about the Giraffe, is that they are our national symbol here in Tanzania, and as a result are protected and are not allowed to be hunted at all).
If you are ever in Nairobi – especially with children – a visit to the Giraffe Centre makes a nice morning or afternoon trip. Aside from being educational (& the children being able to have their photo taken up close with the world’s tallest animal !) there is also a tea garden where you can have some light refreshments, and a gift shop which you can browse in afterwards. Your entrance fee will also help contribute to the centre and to the long term conservation of the Rothschild Giraffe.
You can view the official site of the Giraffe Centre over here.
