Sunday, February 7, 2010

Giraffes!

About an hour outside of Niamey are giraffes. Niger is home to the last free roaming giraffes in West Africa. The protected area started in the 1980s, at which time there were about 80. Today, the number is over 200!

In entering the park we immediately saw seven giraffes, including three three-month-olds. They ran away because the young aren’t yet accustomed to people. We then drove for nearly two hours on bumpy roads and through fields, searching and searching, with our guide even climbing trees for a better vantage point. Finally we saw giraffes, and then we couldn’t stop seeing them! We saw a total of 47!

They are such amazing animals, unique yet familiar, resembling in some ways goats (the way they run, and their cloven hooves) and horses (they have manes). Similarly, their heads and long legs remind us of camels; in fact, in local languages giraffes are called, literally, ‘bush (countryside) camels.’

They are surprisingly pretty, in a feminine sense, having big, curious eyes with long dark eyelashes. They are extremely gentle, and will allow people to come close enough for good pictures.

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