Tonight on PBS, the program "Nature" had a show about giraffes. Lynn Sherr was the host of it; apparently she is enamoured of them and has been going to Africa to see them for many years. My knowledge of giraffes is limited to a few documentaries and National Geographic shows about all African veldt and savanna animals. I never knew they could be SO interesting!
They showed a baby giraffe being born in a zoo setting. The momma giraffe was in active labor for 3 1/2 hours and then she dropped the baby out from a standing position. The zookeepers put a lot of sand on the floor of the birthing area which is supposed to cushion the fall of the newborn, but this momma happened to be standing at the edge of the sand, so the baby took quite a hard fall onto concrete. She rallied, though, and within a short time she was standing up and walking around, though still endearingly wobbly. If this program is shown again, do yourself a great favor and watch!
6 comments:
I watched the same show last night, and had the exact same reaction...I was FASCINATED! I got a little choked up during the segment on Victor.
Have a great vacation!
I adore this photo?! What a line-up!
Enjoy your break!
I watched this as well and was pretty impressed.
Yes, a beautiful animal that I too know next to nothing about. Great post.
They have such lovely faces. Vicki's picture of "Sterling" is one of my favorite. Such long eyelashes.
I've seen that show a couple of times, and the ending, where the giraffe peeks her head into the house Lynne is staying at, always totally gets me. They seem like such gentle creatures but they can be exceedingly dangerous. Did you know that giraffes have skin that is 7" thick? That's how they protect themselves against the kicks of other giraffes.
Here via Michele
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