No new photos today - just been so busy catching up after my couple of days away. So here's another one from yesterday's early morning game drive.
Our safari guide was very interesting and knowledgeable, and on every stop to view animals he gave us some very interesting information about the animal, or environment. I learned that giraffe's tongues are black because of dense melanin pigment to prevent them getting sunburned tongues in our hot African sun. Their tongues are about 20" long and prehensile, allowing them to grab acacia leaves around the thorns. And also, they walk into the wind to browse so that the plants don't sense them coming because the plants produce alarm pheromones which makes their leaves bitter and unpalatable.
Also, a giraffe baby falls about 6 feet to the ground at birth. This is nature's way of having a doctor smack the baby on his bottom to get him to start breathing. If the baby is not breathing and standing up to walk away from the birthing place within 10 minutes, the mother will abandon it there because mother and baby are both weak and vulnerable at that moment, and the smell of blood will attract predators so they have to move away quickly.
@beckyk365 Yes indeed, they are amazing, aren't they @narayani I don't do zoos because I feel that by supporting a zoo (visiting it and paying an entrance fee), I will then be tacitly supporting the practice of zoos. I feel it's cruel to keep all of these animals in cages or small areas
@narayani I don't do zoos because I feel that by supporting a zoo (visiting it and paying an entrance fee), I will then be tacitly supporting the practice of zoos. I feel it's cruel to keep all of these animals in cages or small areas