Friday 8 April 2016

G IS FOR GIRAFFE : A-Z Blogging Challenge

Welcome to Day 7 of the A-Z Blogging Challenge. My theme is:


'Wildlife Encounters'


When it comes to the wackier looking animals to be found in Africa, the giraffe, with its head in the clouds, is surely right up there with the elephant and rhino.



My first sub-Saharan African adventure was in Zimbabwe and I will always remember my first wild giraffes in Hwange National Park. It’s a marvellous thing that such strangely built creatures can look both elegant and loopily lop-sided at the same time.


I saw giraffes again and again in other locations… swaying like catwalk models on the Kenyan Masai Mara, adding a picturesque addition to sunset over Namibia’s Etosha Pan - or bending awkwardly to drink in Chobe’s National Park in Botswana.




But never mind my attempts to wax lyrical over the extraordinary giraffe… I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.






See you tomorrow - I'll be sticking around on this continent because I have a story about an animal beginning with H that I simply have to tell you. Can you guess what that animal will be?


I'm away until tomorrow afternoon and I won't be travelling with my laptop, so apologies for not commenting on your blogs today. I'll respond to all comments when I return. 

If you want to blog-hop to the next A-Z Challenge blog, please click HERE


26 comments:

  1. They are amazing creatures - a miracle of evolution - though having seen them fight, I wouldn't want to cross one!

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  2. They look so elegant walking amongst the trees and in the open yet when they bend to drink they look as elegant as Bambi on ice.

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    1. Oh, I like that... as elegant as Bambi on ice!

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  3. Whooppee! I was right... now for tomorrow.
    Hippo... Hyena... hyrax... hatrebees...

    Back to giraffes. Many years ago I was part of a group doing land survival course in the Klaserie Game Reserve. We lived in the open... no weapons apart from knives. One flare between the group to signal at night if required. We found the giraffes to be inquisitive... they'd follow you at a distance as you walk through the bush. One morning, we woke... to look straight up at a large fella who was stooping down to see where all the noise was coming from! Me snoring!!
    (To briefly explain... we would make small boma's for ourselves (groups less than 4) before the sunset, either crawl in beneath the low branches of a thorn thicket or chop branches to encircle ourselves. In larger groups we would split the sleeping duties and the standing guard duties! FUN!!)
    AJ at Ouch My Back Hurts

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    1. Wow, that's a fantastic story - makes my wildlife encounters look very tame! :)

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  4. I love giraffes, they have an unexpected grace about them somehow and they always seem so contented
    Debbie

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    1. Yes, they are beautiful, graceful animals - always a joy to see. :)

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  5. wow! those pics are stunning. to see them in real life in the wild -- awesome.

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    1. Hi Djinnia - thanks for visiting my blog and glad you enjoyed the pics. Hope you'll see what other animals I have in store for you this month. :)

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  6. I'd never seen a photo of a giraffe drinking before. So that's how they do it!

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    1. Yup, that's how they do it. I've watched giraffes taking absolutely ages to drink at waterholes... they're very vulnerable when they splay their legs and bends down, so take great care that it's safe before they assume the position.

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  7. Elegant and awkward, but perfectly adapted to their environment. One thing I've often wondered - do giraffes make a noise? I've never heard them calling to each other or sounding an alarm on wildlife films (the only place I've seen wild ones).

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    1. Good question, Linda. I've never heard them. Hmm... will have to research that one.

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  8. I have seen giraffes in zoo. After reading your blog I realised that wild giraffes are more free than captured giraffes. The photos show different movements of the giraffe

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    1. Goodness, yes, there is no comparison to giraffes in captivity. I can't stand the idea of these animals being cooped up behind bars, unable to roam freely.

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  9. Very cool animals! Definitely majestic :)

    I would guess that your next one is Hippo?

    Tracy (Black Boots, Long Legs)

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  10. Wow, so amazing! Love visiting your blog, truly!

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    1. Thank you, Yolanda. It's lovely to know that I'm achieving what I set out to achieve... to inform and entertain. :)

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  11. I have been busy too so will be trying to play catch up tomorrow. I thought you would be going further east:) I love the giraffe. I am thinking hyena for tomorrow

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  12. Hi Birgit - I've had a catching-up issue over the last couple of days because I was away. No matter - always nice to read your comments.

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  13. What a fun theme you're using. And you have such great stories to tell.
    I enjoyed the Hippo story too.
    I love all the giraffe photos you have here. I love them. They are so regal and have such grace.
    Trisha Faye
    www.scooterstale.wordpress.com

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    1. Thanks, Trisha. Glad you're enjoying my posts and hope you'll drop by again to read more of my tales. :)

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  14. Love giraffes, such elegance (well apart from the waterhole thing!). I spoke with a world expert on them and that was interesting. He told me that the internet info that they have huge hearts to get the blood up to their head is false - they actually have a normal sized heart but they have very muscular walls. ~Liz http://www.lizbrownleepoet.com

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  15. Giraffes are beautiful creatures...but highly dangerous too I heard! Nothing to beat a baby elephant though :)

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Many thanks for commenting. I appreciate your feedback.