As humans, we have this strange impulse to tame majestic animals. With all of the problems associated with that sentiment, standing in front of one of these beasts of nature feeding them pellets from your hand feels oddly satisfying. Not in the sense of controlling nature, but rather in the sense of appreciating their beauty and scale from up close.
This morning, we drove a couple of kilometres from our town to feed a giraffe at the Bothongo Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve in Krugersdorp, South Africa. It was a chilly morning with the sun not providing warmth. A cold wind blew through the air sending shivers down our backs. We are getting ready for the summer so the cold is surprising. In any case, with some hot coffee in our systems, we readied ourselves for the main event.
Sky is a friendly and tame giraffe that eats from your hands. You buy a packet of pellet food and feed her from your hand. Her tongue is surprisingly soft and she is not aggressive at all.
From up close, you can really appreciate their beauty. This does not in any sense justify keeping them in cages or in small spaces for our human enjoyment. But it is really wonderful to see them this close. Viewing them in nature and in the reserves does not always give you the scale of their size and beauty. Here, you can feed her and see how beautiful she is up close.
We were the first ones there. Sky stood on the other side of the plot she freely roams on. The lady at the desk told us we should merely shake the packet. Within seconds of shaking the packet of food, Sky began to make her way towards us.
In the video below, you can see how she walks towards us when we shake the packet. It was really cute. And the second video, you can see just how long her tongue is! Perfect for grabbing onto the leaves of trees.
Their website does not really state much about the feeding and I neglected to ask. I would hope that the money collected for the feeding goes to the animals and that the giraffe, for instance, is only there for rehab or something. But sometimes I live in a fantasy world. In any case, because she eats from your hand, you can get some nice photographs really close up.
I could not help myself, looking into her eyes, think about how sad the situation actually is. Few trees are in her plot, maybe it is merely a temporary area for her? She was really hungry and ate all of the food we bought really quickly.
Contrary to the first photograph in this post, which gives the illusion of a smile, the close up photographs portray her in a rather sad looking state. Or this might just be me reading human emotions into an animal. Maybe walking in the field getting leaves from trees are not much different for her from feeding on pellets from our hands. Both are the same in her animal worldview.
From a different perspective, you can really appreciate the scale of her size. It is a good two stories high. She is still relatively young, according to our non-expert judgements. And she was so hungry!
After eating all of the food we had, she lost interest in us. In the camp next to this one, someone fed the North African Barbary sheep and this obviously attracted her!
Sticking her tongue out, I captured the rather comical moment. It looked like she wanted to jump over the fence to get the food from the other animals!
Talking of other animals, on the farm there are so many other animals you can see. Entrance is free, so for nothing really you can see so many different animals. For example, below is as I said the North African Barbary sheep:
But in the same camp as the giraffe, there are zebras and different antelopes/bucks.
There is also a lonely ostrich roaming next to the many bucks/antelopes.
On the reserve, you can walk on the designated pathways to see more of the animals.
We saw many different bird species, for example, these swans, black and white:
Other birds also roamed the walkway, with so many geese and ducks, as always! But this beautiful Grey Crowned Crane stood out among the many other species. It almost looks like a painting.
On our way to the restaurant, we saw two more small animals! This little klipspringer (rock jumper) or duiker (I can never tell the two apart) stood almost covered under a small bush. It is amazing how easily you can look over it.
And lastly we saw this yellow mongoose running toward something, either smelling some yummy food or getting away from a bird of prey wanting to snatch it. They are such quick runners.
At this point, we were starving as well, so we went to one of the many restaurants on the reserve to grab something to eat and drink. As per usual, I ordered some ice-cold beer, because why not?
And their wood-fired oven teased us the whole time we were walking there, smelling so nicely even though it was so early in the morning. We could not resist getting some for us as well.
Sitting down, we looked at the interior design of the place. It was done so beautifully. These places always attract the rich, so they have the money to spend. It seemed like they attracted the bike riding club as we drove past so many people riding their bikes. To each their own!
In any case, I hope you enjoyed this virtual journey with me to this awesome nature reserve where you can feed such a beautiful animal and see so many others, where you can enjoy a cold beer and eat a freshly made pizza, and where you can just escape from the busy city life.
If you are ever in the area, you should definitely visit.
Would you ever feed a giraffe like this?
All of the photographs and videos are my own, taken either with my Nikon D300 or my girlfriend's iPhone. The writings and musings are also my own.