Etosha National Park

So for them and other gamblers, let’s have a look at what Windhoek has to offer for those looking for a little Poker action, some spins at the Roulette table or just some slot machine action.  There are only two major casinos currently in the city – the Kalahari Sands and the Windhoek Country Club Resort.

The Kalahari Sands has been a big favourite of ours for some time; located very close to the city centre it has a casino which opens from 10.00am to 4.00am and it’s a big enough venue to qualify as a casino in it’s own right as well as being an integral part of the hotel.  More than 150 slot machines await slots fans as well as American Roulette, Black Jack and Poker tables.  The casino bar awaits those looking for a break from the gaming zone.  If you want to stay at the hotel it’s big enough for everyone – 173 rooms and suites await the tired traveler.

Inside the Desert Jewel Casino, Windhoek

The Windhoek Country Club Resort is the capital city’s second venue to offer gamblers some recreation – the casino which it incorporates is called the Desert Jewel and offers slots from 10.00am to 4.00am and table games from 3.00pm onwards.  Slots fans are well-catered for here – there’s at least 160 machines of various types including standard slots, progressive slots and video poker.  Europeans may shy away from the double-zeroed American Roulette but they can console themselves with Stud Poker and Blackjack. Windhoek Country Club is situated just to the west of the city centre and, as the name may suggest, you can also play a round of golf here.

Paignton Zoo in Devon on the South Coast of the United Kingdom is the location of one of

The new arrival.

the most recent giraffe births.  It happened on Valentine’s Day (Feb 14th) and the Rothschild giraffe was born to Yoda (Dad) and Janica (Mum) at around 2.00am in the morning.

Although the birth went well, Senior Head Mammal Keeper Matt Webb said that “he did not suckle down on Tuesday.  We hoped mother and calf would settle down and he would be able to feed but keeper’s and the Zoo’s in-house vet team had to step in and feed him by hand.  Mum is being a bit more attentive this morning so we are hopeful that things will work out.”

The new, as yet unnamed arrival, already has a two year old brother called Tonda and Mum and Dad are quite well travelled; Yoda came from a Danish zoo in 2006 and Janica arrived from the Czech Republic in 2005.  Although Rothschild giraffes seem to be fairly prevalent in zoos around the world, they are in fact listed as an endangered species so a new arrival is always welcome.

Niger Sees Giraffe Comeback

Some more good news and this time from Africa where the West African giraffe appears to be making a welcome comeback.  Back in 1996 the giraffe population in Niger had fallen to a dangerously low number of 50.  This led to a number of conservation initiatives driven by the Association to Safeguard the Giraffes of Niger (ASGN) and the French zoo, Doue La Fontaine.

The West African Giraffe in Niger

The efforts worked on the assumption that the best way to promote the giraffe population was to encourage the local population to make small changes to the environment which would benefit giraffes.  Poaching has been virtually eradicated and the only remaining danger is giraffes getting injured by motorised traffic.

All the efforts seem to have paid off and the latest census recorded more than 300 West African giraffes in 2011.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation is that organisation and their purpose is to “….be dedicated to securing a future for all giraffe populations and (sub)species in the wild.”  It’s a relatively new organisation which concentrates largely on six African countries in which giraffe conservation is necessary.  In no particular order they are:

Botswana – research is undertaken into the largely neglected giraffe population.  There is no particular hunting or extinction danger here but giraffes are a valuable part of Botswana’s culture and economy.

Kenya – giraffes in Kenya are a largely unresearched topic.  Population movements have forced the displacement of giraffes in certain areas and like Botswana, giraffes are vital to tourism and therefore the local economy.

Namibia – Namibia’s giraffe population is on the increase and therefore extinction is not a great concern here.  Namibia is used by the GCF as a kind of template for giraffe husbandry over the rest of the African continent.

Niger – The West African giraffe only exists in Niger and the huge decline in the giraffe population in the area has ensured a massive conservation effort is required here.  Towards the end of the 1990s there were thought to be only 50 giraffes remaining in the area around the capital Niamey.

West African Giraffe

Zambia – Zambia has a reasonably healthy and unthreatened giraffe population and research here is mainly concentrated on establishing the genetic lineage of the giraffes. As with Namibia the results will add to current scientific knowledge.

Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe is not a particularly dangerous place for giraffes.  Giraffes here are free roaming and it’s an ideal location in which to study the reproductive habits of the males.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation is a globally run organisation with its focus very much on Africa.  The research it is currently undertaking will ideally lead to improved scientific knowledge and higher quality conservation environments.

The Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio is a good place to start and this 10,000 acre site is easily the largest conservation zone of it’s type in the country.  It has a huge number of indigenous and non-indigenous animals roaming freely and animal husbandry and welfare is of the highest priority.  As well as the safari areas, there’s a whole range or other activities available here as well as accommodation.

Masai giraffe at The Wilds

Safari West in Santo Rosa, California is another of our favourites, particularly because giraffes are featured prominently here. Currently you can see Kulula and her young daughter Zola on part of the 400 acres of safari ground in the middle of California’s wine country.  Safari West is more than twenty years old now and a leading facility for the breeding of several animal and bird species.

Young Zola at Safari West

Pine Mountain Wild Animal Safari, located in Pine Mountain, Georgia is a great spot in the southern U.S. for giraffe spotting.  Aside from giraffes, there’s a range of other impressive wild animals including Lions, Tigers and Rhinos.  Pine Mountain has also recently been named as one of USA Today’s top ten places for an American safari so you know you’re in good hands.

Saharan cave painting

As well as cats, the Egyptians also probably kept giraffes as pets and are known to have exported them to various Mediterranean ports.  There are drawings of giraffes in tombs in modern day Egypt.  Perhaps the Roman’s received one of these giraffes in Europe or perhaps they brought one back from Africa themselves, but both they and the Greeks were aware of, and collected, the camelopardalis, as they called the giraffe.

With the ultimate collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, the sophisticated Romans were no longer in a position to influence other Europeans who quickly abandoned any attempts to continue looking after giraffes.  They were still revered, however, in the Middle East and a giraffe is known to have been moved in 1414 from what is now Kenya, across the Middle East to Bengal (India) and finally on to China by the legendary Chinese explorer Zheng He.

Statue of Zarafa in Marseilles, France

Fifty years later a giraffe was brought to Florence in Italy and presented to Lorenzo de Medici, ruler of the Florentine Republic.  This was the first giraffe to be seen in Italy quite possibly since the days of the Romans at least 800 years earlier.  In the 19th century a giraffe named Zarafa became something of a celebrity in Paris and was quite possibly the first time memorabilia was sold in connection with an African animal in Europe.

A good news story with which to kick off this post and a very welcome addition to another baby giraffe in Israel.  The Ramat Gan Safari Park near Tel Aviv is the home of the latest addition, as yet unnamed.

There were one or two nervous moments during the birth, particularly when the calf’s legs became tangled around it’s neck, but veterinary staff from the park were on hand to help the mother and ensure a successful birth.  The process then resumed without a hitch and the calf was up on it’s feet within the hour, being doted on by it’s mother.  Have a look at the birth video below:

The mother’s name is Dikla and the name of the calf will also begin with ‘D’ – a naming convention which is well-established at the park.

The Ramat Gan Safari Park is a 250 acre site in an unusual location, set within a busy urban area and referring to itself as “Africa in the heart of Israel”.  It contains 1600 animal species including 68 species of mammals, 130 species of fowl and 25 species of reptiles and is the largest such facility in the Middle East.  It’s also a renowned centre of research in the region and because of it’s location is an ideal place to go to see African animals in a natural environment.

Second Giraffe Dies At Vancouver Zoo

Last week we reported how Amryn, the youngest giraffe at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, had died suddenly after what the zoo authorities described as an unknown illness.  To add to the bad news, the death of the four year old giraffe was followed five days later by her mother Eleah.  This death also appears to be unexplained.

At the moment the zoo authorities are making no link between the deaths of mother and son, describing the events as a sad coincidence and reiterating the fact that both giraffes were in excellent health right up until their demise.  Eleah had showed no adverse effects following the death of Amryn.  Although the weather has been slightly colder than normal, this is not a factor, says the zoo.  It also says that it’s indoor and outdoor enclosures are perfectly adequate despite some criticism from other quarters.

Zoocheck Canada is an organisation which monitors Canadian zoos and it’s director is Rob Laidlaw.  He says that “giraffes are particularly sensitive animals and facilities like the Greater Vancouver Zoo are simply not designed to keep them in enclosures.”  Laidlaw goes to say that giraffes are “dropping dead all over the place“, and suggests that giraffes are a very social animal and without that contact they will suffer.

With this in mind, it’s good to know that staff at the Greater Vancouver Zoo are keeping an extra watch on their one remaining giraffe;  he’s Jafari and is the father of Amryn and 11 years old.  Vets are still in the process of performing autopsies on the animals but those results are not expected to be available for at least another month.

Who knows? But it’s a perennially interesting question and one that has reared it’s head around the Berkshire town of Newbury, in the U.K.  What’s turned up on several of the bridges on the Newbury bypass probably couldn’t be ascribed to, say, Banksy but the pictures are pretty entertaining anyway.

The link to this website is of course that the pictures are of giraffes so let’s have a look at a few of the examples:

Newbury Giraffe #1

Newbury Giraffe #2

Now nobody is going to deny that these pictures are undeniably cute and the anonymous artist is apparently remaining just that but should this type of thing be classed as criminal behaviour, specifically criminal damage?  Local police think they know the answer and said that “….anyone caught doing this will be arrested and put before the courts, which may result in a custodial sentence or a significant fine.”

Surinder Bhangu from the Highways Agency said that the pictures were “quite sweet” but expressed concerns about the safety aspect of climbing on the bridge to paint the giraffe.  Locals appear to have split opinions about the legitimacy of the medium, there’s the usual ludicrous Daily Mail-type opinions that the perpetrator should be locked up forever but others say it makes them smile as they make their way to work.

As we mentioned Banksy earlier on, it’s worth mentioning a Banksy-inspired picture by British artist Nick Walker (who has been suspected of being Banksy) which he created on the side of the Roebling Tea Room in the neighbourhood of Williamsburg, Washington.

Nick Walker's Giraffe

Giraffe Death At Vancouver Zoo

A sad piece of news from the Greater Vancouver Zoo this week as we report the death of Amryn, a young giraffe just short of his 4th birthday.  Amryn was one of the zoo’s Rothschild Giraffes and had been separated from his mother shortly after his birth when he refused to feed from her.

However there had been no cause for concern in his early years and a pathologist will be conducting a full post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death.

Following the recent story about the large number of exotic animals which were destroyed in a tragic incident in Ohio, another two giraffes have been killed in a fire at the Animal Kingdom Zoo in New Jersey.  A Halloween party had been held at the venue earlier that evening.  The zoo has been in operation for 30 years and is run by 67 year old Burton Sipp.  It may not now reopen due to inadequate insurance.

Burton Sipp surveys the fire damage

The cause of the fire is as yet unknown but the giraffes, a mother and her calf, were crushed when a wall collapsed on them as fire-fighters were attempting to release them from a locked building.  The current chilly autumn weather meant that the giraffes had been locked indoors for their own comfort.

The zoo has recently been renamed Bridget’s Animal Kingdom following the death of Sipp’s wife Bridget in another fire at the premises in April.  The calf was transported to a nearby animal hospital but was unable to be saved.  Other animals also died in the fire, including cats, dogs and a number of exotic birds.

A number of other local zoos have offered to help with the rehousing of the rest of the animals and the Great Adventure Park in Jackson, N.J. has already arranged to look after some of the remaining giraffes for the winter.

A Pedicure For Sophie The Giraffe

In more light-hearted giraffe related news, over in the United Kingdom a 17 year old giraffe named Sophie has undergone a pedicure, something which is nowhere near as easy as it sounds.

Sophie was born at Woburn Safari park in Bedfordshire but had previously been a resident at Dudley Zoo in the West Midlands before making the move to Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park near Stirling in Scotland.

When Sophie arrived at her new home, one of the first things they noticed about her was her overgrown hooves.  During the course of their lives, giraffes would normally wear their hooves down naturally but for whatever reason Sophie’s hooves had become too big.  If neglected, this can lead to an unnatural variation in the giraffes steps which can ultimately lead to the development of ankle problems.

“Spring In Her Step”

The decision was therefore made to clip the hooves, the giraffe version of a visit to the pedicurist.  Overseen by head vet Colin Scott, a team consisting of three vets, two veterinary nurses and a number of Blair Drummond’s staff members took around an hour and a half to complete the operation.

Sophie's Pedicure

It’s a fairly unusual procedure for giraffes and the park manager Gary Gilmour said that “….although the clippers look very big, they work the same way as a set of nail clippers work on a human and it doesn’t hurt the animal…….when we brought her round she was up and about in no time and has been doing really well. She really is a great giraffe and we’re pleased to see she’s got a spring back in her step.”

This all happened close to the town of Zanesville, Ohio and the 25,000 residents were advised to stay indoors and not to get out of vehicles, The owner of the animals was named Terry Thompson and we’ll come to the Ohio legal requirements of owning animals such as these shortly but it seems the 73 acre piece of land where Thompson lived with his animals was called the Muskingum County Animal Farm and he resided there alone. He is understood to have quarrelled regularly with his neighbours and some have speculated that he released the animals to get some sort of revenge on them. He is understood to have been a an antisocial character and had only been out of prison for one month. Although there were concerns about the treatment of some of the animals on the farm, Thompson did seem to be an animal lover.

Ohio’s laws concerning ownership of non-domestic animals are some of the weakest in the United States; there seems to be very little to stop just about anyone purchasing and then looking after any type of exotic animal. It’s probably no coincidence that Ohio also has one of the highest recorded number of cases for injuries and deaths caused by these creatures. The state may now take a second look at the way it regulates this matter.

Our first country is the United Kingdom, and the British fondness for animals and animal welfare means that here, there’s many options to view giraffes, feed giraffes and even view giraffes in almost their natural habitat in one of the 40 or so Safari Parks dotted around the country.

Longleat Safari Park is our first stop and it’s long been regarded as one of the best.  Situated in the South West of the U.K. between Bristol and Southampton, giraffes have been resident for some time but 2012 will introduce a new experience – feeding the giraffes by hand.  You’ll have to pre-book to visit The Watering Hole but hand feeding a giraffe is an experience not to be missed.

Giraffes at Longleat

Knowsley Safari Park is another of our favourites, not far from Liverpool and so within travelling distance for many people.  Here you can see the Reticulated Giraffe, a giraffe species now only found in limited areas of Kenya, Sudan and Eritrea.

As far as zoos go, Colchester Zoo always rates highly on all levels.  Situated in Essex just

Giraffes at Colchester Zoo

North-East of London, it’s easily accessible for much of the South East.  As well as viewing giraffes here in the fantastic enclosures, visitors are also able to experience hand feeding as with Longleat.  There are plenty of hand feeding sessions throughout the day and they can get busy so go early if that’s what your there for.

Lastly South Lakes Wild Animal Park is another great giraffe viewing venue a little further afield.  It’s close to Dalton-in Furness in the Lake District and although you can view the animals and feeding times, hand feeding is not currently an option.