On Saturday morning, we headed out to Kouré to see the wild giraffes that live there. The Kouré giraffes are the last wild giraffes in West Africa, and they have bounced back in 10 years from 67 individuals to 205. This is a real success story in terms of concerted conservation, and the giraffe live in a populated, cultivated, and grazing area designated as a biosphere reserve for the benefit of the local population. The local population receives some of the proceeds of the visitors’ ticket prices, and compensation when the giraffes eat their crops (apparently they dig beans a lot).
The giraffes were very easily approachable. This being the dry season, they get around in small groups of fewer than 10 individuals. We saw a group of four comprising one young and 3 adult females, including a pregnant one. We were able to get out of the car and approach them on foot (as close as 30 feet, but I didn’t try to go closer), as they placidly ate leaves off the trees.
These giraffes, as you might notice, are lighter colored than East-African giraffes. This is one of their characteristics, and can be explained by the dry environment that they live in. Without further ado, here are the pictures.
This is the requisite “I was there” Japanese-tourist shot.
3 giraffes pigging out. The stalks you see in front are millet, which is left to stand after the stems are harvested to serve as food for the animals (cows, sheep, and goats).
At one point, the giraffes decided to check me out as well before going back to eating.
I'm with you, that leaf did look tasty.
They young one is slightly darker than the older ones.
The giraffes were very easily approachable. This being the dry season, they get around in small groups of fewer than 10 individuals. We saw a group of four comprising one young and 3 adult females, including a pregnant one. We were able to get out of the car and approach them on foot (as close as 30 feet, but I didn’t try to go closer), as they placidly ate leaves off the trees.
These giraffes, as you might notice, are lighter colored than East-African giraffes. This is one of their characteristics, and can be explained by the dry environment that they live in. Without further ado, here are the pictures.
This is the requisite “I was there” Japanese-tourist shot.
3 giraffes pigging out. The stalks you see in front are millet, which is left to stand after the stems are harvested to serve as food for the animals (cows, sheep, and goats).
At one point, the giraffes decided to check me out as well before going back to eating.
I'm with you, that leaf did look tasty.
They young one is slightly darker than the older ones.
1 comment:
Giraffes are so fantastic, in the true sense of the word. I love them. If one can believe in giraffes, I see no reason why one can't believe in unicorns. Great photos!
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