Animal photography… the giraffe

in Steem of Animalslast year



The Giraffe - designed with Canva

19! This is the number of National Parks in South Africa of which the largest, The Kruger National Park, is as big as Belgium.

There are also plenty of game reserves, farms, and lodges that are privately owned. No wonder South Africa is such a big tourist attraction for its wild life. "Come to South Africa and we will show you."

The Big 5 (buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion, and rhino) roam in these parks.

It always gives us great pleasure to visit a wildlife reserve. Not only is it an outing for the family but it is also a day of slowing down and enjoying what nature has to offer. We will drive around for hours in these parks looking for animals. So often they are missed as they are clever things, hiding in the long grass, behind the bushes or amongst the trees.

"Kyk daar!" (Look there!) A shout that one of us will give every now and again.

For one of these animals, the giraffe, it is difficult to hide. With its long neck it is more visible. I cannot remember one game drive where we did not encounter giraffes.

I don’t look for the Big 5, no, I look for the giraffes, as it gives me endless pleasure watching them when they move. They are so graceful, peaceful, and captivated.

For me, I don’t have to sit in an opera house to watch the ballet Swan Lake, no, it is performed under the blue sky of my own "back yard."

Did you know?

  • They are the tallest animals we will find on Mother Earth.
  • Like our fingerprints, which are unique to us, not two giraffes have the same patches.
  • They use their long necks to be on the lookout for predators just like the scopes of a submarine.
  • Their tongues are blue to protect them from the sun as they stick them out a lot as they are constantly eating.
  • They can eat up to +/- 42 kilograms of twigs and leaves in a single day.
  • Their mouths are protected on the inside so that thorns on branches cannot hurt them.
  • They don’t drink a lot of water and when they do it looks extremely funny as they must stretch their legs sideways to get their heads closer to the water.
  • They are dangerous even though they are known as friendly and sociable animals. Not only can they run fast, but they can also kick very powerful kicks with hooves as massive as a 30 cm dinner plate.
  • When they give birth the baby giraffe drops about 2 meters to the ground and within an hour it will start walking just like its mom. During this time the mother is extremely protective over her baby as it is an easy prey.



Oh yes, I can hear you ask, "Does a giraffe stand or lay down when it sleeps?" The answer is both. They can stand and lay down to sleep. They prefer to stand during the short sleep intervals they take due to the fact that they are easier prey when they are laying on the ground.

Giraffes, my favorite animal in the wild.

image.png

The Photos:
The photos are my own taken with my mobile phone in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The Facts:
The facts I am sharing was made known to us while on a game drive

Location Google Maps


THIS IS AFRICA!



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 last year 

Welcome to the Steem of Animals community Mom @patjewell. Where it will be a gathering place for animal lovers and activists who care about the living creatures that we need to protect and care for. We are happy and grateful to welcome you as one of the activists who have the legality to contribute to this community.

 last year 

Thank you for the warm welcome!
I look at my two dogs and I cannot understand how people cannot be kind to animals.

 last year 

You're welcome mom.
That's what makes us very concerned. In society I only care about animals that bring profit. While others are left alone, including cats whose growth is not normal, they live on the streets.

... and giraffes have exactly as many cervical vertebrae as humans! One would think there would be quite a few more... ;-))

 last year 

Oh yes!! I forgot that one. 7 is the number (•ิ‿•ิ)

Hi.

Today I read from a well-known Russian blogger that she is now in South Africa and it is quite cool there.

It's winter now. right?

 last year 

Hello!

Yip, it is winter, and the last couple of days were extremely cold.
There was even snow in places where it had never snowed before. Okay, the snow here is completely different than in your country. Here you will find patches of snow here and there (•ิ‿•ิ)

If you are close to some of the mountains, you will find deeper snow.

I hope the blogger has a few nice things to say about my country.

And it's cold here now, too. I've been in Moscow for a week now. In the morning only +12, in the afternoon +15. And it's almost the middle of July. It's a terrible summer.

The blogger speaks very well about your country!

 last year 

Oh gosh that is cold for a summer!
Who is the blogger? I would like to read what he/she is posting. (•ิ‿•ิ)

https://ria.ru/20230627/tnt-1880712737.html

MOSCOW, June 27 – RIA Novosti. In South Africa, the filming of the second season of the reality show "New Stars in Africa" has begun, the press service of the TNT TV channel reports.
The project hosts Olga Buzova and Mikhail Galustyan, together with 19 star participants, went to a camp on the Limpopo River.
According to the rules of the show, celebrities will have to buy food and other things necessary for survival with coins earned on trials.

 last year 

Ah! This is cool!!
Thank you for sharing!

🙏🙏🙏

It is always a pleasure for me to communicate with you and read your posts.

 last year 

In my life I have never seen a giraffe once, and of course I really want to see its beauty, the long neck makes me so curious and by the way it's a beautiful picture mom

Good luck in this contest 😊

 last year 

Ah! Thanks for the visit and kind words.
They are unbelievable animals. What I also like about them is that they are actually also very sociable. They interact a lot with other animals.

 last year 

Yes, it can be seen from their attitude, they never fight with other animals

Congratulations!

This post has been supported through the account Steemcurator06. for containing good quality content.

Curated by : @harferri

 last year