Giraffes Galore

We had such a fun time with the delightful, gentle giraffes at Reid Park Zoo one afternoon.

(If you click on the collages below, they will become larger.)

Their strong yet tame, long gray tongues played tug-of-war with bits of vegetables from our hands and they were tolerant with our teasing. I like to think that giraffes have a good sense of humor. We just wanted to see how far that tongue would reach for a delectable snack. But, still, we would not want to cross their line of friendliness and anger even the sweetest of giants. They are still wild at heart.

I love this awkward, exotic animal; one that is related to our familiar cow, but yet (neck included) doesn't that seem a bit far reached?

Such a joyful experience with them at the local zoo also brings me a little sadness because of their captivity, and all I can hope is that they don't mind their Sonoran-desert-climate-zoo home too much. Thinking of all the space there is out there for them to roam and graze in their native Africa, makes me long for their freedom. But I suppose there are more threats to them in the wild though, too. A friend of my dad's, Lesley, an animal handler at the zoo, was so kind to allow us a longer linger with the tall, spotted giraffes.

Thanks for the gander, you magnificent creatures.

a guilty and hopeful spectator,
Dawn