The
Giraffe Center: Langata, Kenya
Cantering through the muddy
road and leaving behind a trail of dust, we pulled brakes at the Simba Hill
Road. Having purchased the entry tickets, we were set to enter the Giraffe
Centre. So as my mind quizzed whether this center was a small confinement just
enough for the giraffes to breathe? I was brought to believe that it is a vast expanse
spread over 114 sq.km. It is widely known as the giraffe sanctuary and is a
conservation habitat for the endangered species, the Rothschild giraffe.
Just as I entered, I was
stunned at a blissful view, so much so, that my brain forgot to signal
my hand to lift the camera and capture this sight! I stood enraptured as trees swayed under the open blue sky,
suns’ rays caressed its leaves and 19 feet tall quadrupeds gracefully meandered
through. Before long I was pulled atop a raised observation platform, a care
taker (at the Giraffe Center) placed chalk like sticks in my hand and asked me to stretch
it out as he called, ‘Ibrahimmmm…’. Two ears from the herd twitched up and
slowly Ibrahim sauntered toward us.
Undoubtedly, this Ibrahim’s
species tower the animal kingdom by being the tallest. Its slender body with beautiful
patchwork of spots (that stands discrete of each giraffe), the tranquility on
its face coupled with the grace in its walk can easily have the super models walking
the ramp a run for their money!
Just as these thoughts were
racing through my mind, Ibrahim was right in front of me and his face was just
a palm away from mine. Songs and sonnets have been written expanding the beauty
of a woman’s eyes, didn’t a poet every notice the khol eyed giraffe with its
long eye lashes, big (nearly the size of my palm), beautiful, coal black eyes?
Well, let’s get back to business, though I still stood amazed, Ibrahim was
hungry and it stretched out its 22 inch tongue for his food resting in my
hands. As his tongue scooped up food from my hand I too wriggled as a worm,
but how often does a 19ft tall quadruped eat out of your hands, so I reached
for his bucket of food and gave him one after the other.
Gradually, it became
second nature to pat him with one hand and feed with the other, though later I realized
what initially was just a finger in his mouth was my whole hand, now. It was a
lifetime experience of being up, front and close to a giraffe (lucky me as what
did not actualize was a board saying, ‘beware of head butts’) I thank Ranjith,
Mushtaq and Shazmin, who enjoyed the scene from a distance and surely did not
want to be thanked with a saliva dripping hand.
Anyways, I had to run back as
the caretaker now called, ‘Linnnnn……..'
