The giraffes are the tallest of the beautiful five (and all animals) - their legs alone are about 6 ft high! It was so wonderful to see towers of giraffes (the name of a group) as we criss-crossed the savanna.We first saw giraffes in Nairobi National Park where we could also see the Nairobi skyline in the distance. Once we started our game drives in the Mara, I joked that the giraffes served as an anchoring skyline in the absence of any sign of city (even the camps were quite hidden in the Mara). There was a tower of giraffes that centered themselves on a field up on a hill near the entrance to our camp - so we saw them first and last on our drives - until they moved on to a different location on our last day in the Mara.
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We were even able to get out of the Land Cruiser one evening to stretch our legs and wander around the field near the giraffes - they chose this field because the grass was short and they could see/hear any predators approaching. They shared this location with other animals such as warthogs, impalas, and more. We found animals such as this grouped often, and Kifa explained to us that they work together (each animal having different keen senses) to alert each other to any potential danger.
We saw babies among the towers of giraffes and plenty of play between giraffes as well as munching on leaves - they feed 16-20 hours a day! We learned that giraffes can sleep standing up as well as sitting down - we did watch one giraffe get up from a sitting position - surprisingly graceful! The type of giraffe we saw in both the Nairobi National Park and Masai Mara is called Masai giraffes and have an irregular spot pattern - sometimes looking like stars.
Enjoy the photos of the giraffes we saw in Kenya and you can learn more about them here https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/giraffe
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