Giraffes – Our Gentle Giants

They’re incredibly tall and possibly intimidating for some. But they’re one of Namibia’s precious animals that roam around our stretching savannahs, eating leaves from the tallest trees. When there are droughts, however, they suffer.

Derived from the Arabic name ‘zarafah’ which means ‘the one who walks quickly’, the giraffe is known for its height (which actually comes from its legs). But there’s so much more to these creatures – organisations such as the Giraffe Conservation Fund, which is based in Namibia, assist with key conservation projects that have to do with taking care of the gentle giants. YouthPaper goes into detail about the educational projects that various organisations go through to teach more youngsters about giraffes and what they do for our environment.

Tall and Proud

Giraffes are common animals in Namibia, especially in the northern areas of the country such as Etosha National Park. Some private game reserves also keep giraffes on their property to protect them. It’s best not to go near a giraffe when you see them, because their kicks are fierce and can be dangerous. When they attack each other, which happens sometimes, they use their heads to hit each other against the neck, but interestingly enough, the animals don’t really injure each other.

Giraffes are said to be extinct in at least seven countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo where their meat is eaten. Statistics show that at the beginning of the 20th century in Africa, there were over a million of them, but in the late 90s, that number went down to 140 000. Today? There are less than 80 000 giraffes across the continent.

However, Namibia is slowly but surely progressing in terms of conservation. In connection with conservation, the minister of environment and tourism Pohamba Shifeta had this to say: “As a result of Namibia’s conservation successes today, Namibia has a great African wildlife recovery story to tell where remarkable wildlife recoveries have occurred in communal areas, on freehold land and in state protected areas”.

Organisations such as NaDEET, which stands for the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust, organise short trips for pupils where they are exposed to the environment at its harshest. Where do giraffes fit in, you may ask? Because the organisation promotes environmental literacy, learning about animals such as giraffes is included.

Here’s what NaDEET is all about: Using practical learning which is quite hands-on, both primary and secondary school pupils, they usually do four-day programmes where pupils are taught how to live sustainably and to understand their impact on the environment.

Then there’s the Khomas Environmental Education Programme (Keep), which is organised by the GCF. Here, pupils “build a culture of environmental awareness, social responsibility and action in Namibia”. Using the giraffe as a model specimen, Keep welcomes primary school students in and around Windhoek, as well as junior secondary pupils on a fun-filled adventure to explore what giraffe conservation research is all about – in real life.

GCF’s Steph Fennessy had this to say about giraffes: “Namibia is a conservation success story – this includes giraffe conservation. It is important to continue this trend and we believe that people will only protect what they know and love. It is therefore important to introduce young Namibians to conservation, environmental issues and their natural environment – how otherwise could they develop a passion for their beautiful country and strive to protect it?!”

• The scientific name of a giraffe is Giraffa camelopardalis.

• The average life span of a giraffe is 25 years.

• Their status has been declared vulnerable, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), because their population is decreasing.

• Giraffes roam around open areas in groups of about six.

• Because of their height, giraffes are easily able to spot predators from far away.

Giraffes actually find it difficult to drink from water holes, so they have to spread their legs awkwardly.

• Female giraffes have to give birth standing up, so their newborns get quite the shock when they fall to the ground.

• Like fingerprints with humans, no two giraffes share the same pattern.

• Giraffes protect themselves by using their strong neck to deliver serious blows. It establishes respect between two giraffes, and whoever submits is the loser.

• Despite their characteristic long necks, giraffes actually have the same number of neck vertebrae as humans – just seven. Each individual vertebra is super-sized, measuring up to 25cm long.

• A giraffe’s heart can weigh about 11kg. A human heart weighs between 200g and 450g. That’s a whole lot of heart!

• Remember, World Giraffe Day is on 21 June!