Giraffes!

 Oh, my, but we did see a whole lot of giraffes while on safari.  In fact, we saw giraffes right in Nairobi, at the Giraffe Center.  We also saw giraffes on our drive from the Nairobi airport to our hotel.  There is a national park in Nairobi!  It's the only city in the world with a national park attached.  (Unless I was ill informed....)

Nonie getting ready to feed a giraffe at the Giraffe Center, Nairobi

We saw mostly G. c. tippelskirchi, known as Maasai giraffes, which are found in Kenya and Tanzania.  We also saw some G. c. reticulata, which are commonly called reticulated giraffe.  To be honest, I couldn't tell one subspecies from another!

I think giraffe hide patterns are beautiful.  The shading is subtle but elegant.  Why don't you see more (faux!) giraffe hide designs in fashion and home furnishings?

Giraffes can not ever lie down.  If they do, they die.  It has to do with blood flow and neck length and heart pressure.  It causes a brain hemorrhage.  They do kneel down, to sleep or eat from short shrubs, but they never lie down.  This does make a rather rude introduction to the world for new born giraffes as they fall about four feet to the ground.

Giraffes are beautiful just standing still, but to see one galloping through the tall grass is stunning.  They are both elegant and graceful, and gangly and odd, all at the same time.

I have become very fond of giraffes.  They are intriguing and interesting and they have beautiful eyes.