Giraffe

An interesting animal, the giraffe. Exotic color and markings, obscenely tall (over 15') with spindly legs, surprisingly quick and agile, gentle demeanor, and a very particular eater. Its main food source is the thorny acacia tree, consuming 100 lbs of leaves and twigs per day. This photo was taken in the in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, …

Nebraska Tourism

My first field trip of 2019 was to the Henry Doorly Zoo, the most popular tourist attraction in Nebraska.  School was out so we took our granddaughter and braved the winter weather. The highlight of this trip was seeing the African animals in parkas, mittens and snow boots.  No.  Wait, that was the elephants and …

Giraffe & Friend

How's the weather up there?  Boy, those giraffes are tall!  I was close to this magnificent creature, felt like within spitting distance (probably was ... for him), no more than 30 yards in the Serengeti Plain, and it took all of my 300 mm lens to get this close-up. I think this is a decent …

Giraffe and Calf

Even the calf is tall enough to feed off this Acacia Tree, but I never saw the calf do anything but nuzzle its mother. A close-up of the thorny Acacia tree is on the left, which is the giraffe's favorite food.  Maybe baby giraffe is in no hurry to give up mother's milk for a scratchy …

Giraffe

There were plenty of giraffe sightings during the 5-day safari.  This scene was was rather unusual, as the giraffe was grazing in the grass, where normally, they are found feeding from the iconic Acacia Tree shown in the back ground. At the left, the giraffe stands above the acacia tree and eats from the top. …