Behind the scenes with giraffes at the Calgary Zoo

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Thalia
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Recently, I was fortunate enough to attend a Behind the Scenes with Giraffes at the Calgary Zoo. During the Behind the Scenes, the zookeeper led the group attending into the staff only areas and we got to get up close and personal with giraffes as we got to feed them. We held up their food and they grabbed it with their long tongues.

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Either they’re extremely tall or I’m really short.. or both
Thalia Original
There were two giraffes. I got to feed this one first. Also in the picture is the zookeeper.

As you might be able to guess, there was quite a bit of saliva dripping from some our hands. Thank goodness there was hand sanitizer before and after. Also as part of the program, we got to see a life sized giraffe skull replica and got to touch an unattached sample of giraffe tail hair that felt more like thick dollar store wig material than actual hair. As the replica was shown, the zookeeper shared with us a bunch of interesting facts about giraffes. It was then that I realized that giraffes might just be my new favourite animal. Since I got to learn so many new cool stuff about them I thought I would attempt to share my enthusiasm with you with some fun facts.

Did you know?

  1. Giraffes are the world’s tallest mammals, thanks to their extremely long 6 ft legs and necks!
  2. Bulls (male giraffes) use their ossicones on their head to fight with other bulls for dominance. The also fight with their necks, this is called “necking.”
    These giraffes might look like they're sharing a warm embrace but they're actually fighting for dominance... TO THE DEATH. Just kidding, girraffes don't usually die when they do this. The duel stops when one of them walks away, submitting to the other.
    These giraffes might look like they’re sharing a warm embrace but they’re actually fighting … TO THE DEATH. Just kidding. Giraffes don’t usually die when they neck. The duel stops when one of them walks away. IMG Cr: DAVE MCKELVIE
  3. When a calf (baby giraffe) is born, they drop 5-6 feet to the ground. Talk about an entrance.
  4. A giraffe’s spots are much like human fingerprints and tongue prints. No two giraffes have exactly the same pattern.
  5. Due to their long necks and legs, giraffes must bend down into an awkward position to reach the water on the ground. This position leaves them vulnerable to lions and other big African cats.
  6. Luckily, giraffes don’t need straight up water often. They get most of the water they need from the 75 pounds of daily leaves they consume.
  7. People use to think that giraffes were mute, but in fact they communicate by making moans or notes that aren’t discernible by the human ear because they’re so low. They can also surprisingly whistle, hiss, roar, and moo. What a vocabulary.

Overall, it was a good day. I enjoyed it, and have now added “feeding giraffes” as an interesting thing I have done with my life.

 

Sources

National Geographic Society. “Giraffe.” National Geographic. Accessed August 30,2014. 

Gammon, Crystal. “Fun Facts About Giraffes.” LiveScience. Tech Media Network. Accessed August 30, 2014. .