Jumping Giraffes

Giraffes!!!       
Daniel

We were driving for about 1 hour in Akagera Game Park, when Nathan and I saw giraffes in the distance.  We discovered a track that led to the giraffes and followed it.  Through the trees I could see a baby giraffe nursing. (I wonder how giraffe milk would taste?)  The baby giraffe was as tall as me!!! It seemed to be only a few days old, because its umbilical cord was still attached.  There were birds riding on the back of the giraffes.

In 1986, 2 males and 4 female giraffes were imported to the game park from Kenya.  Most of them were killed from poaching during the genocide.  But now over the years the number of giraffes has increased to about 75, and we were lucky to see some.

The scientific name of giraffe is Giraffa Camelepardalis meaning 'fast walking camel leopard.'  The giraffe is related to deer and cattle, but its closest relative is the Okapi.

Baby giraffes

• A baby giraffe can run for to 24 hours after birth!  
• It knows how to jump within 4 days.
• Drinks milk (or suckles) from its mother, till its about 10 months old.
• It weighs about 110 pounds at birth.

 Giraffe Fun Facts

• A giraffe's heart weighs up to 25 pounds!
• A full grown giraffe's neck can weigh as much as 500 pounds!
• A giraffe can go longer without water that a camel!
• Giraffes have black tongues!
• In 1 minute, a giraffe's heart can pump 160 gallons of blood!
• An adult giraffe can kick so hard that it can decapitate (take off) a lions head!
• Giraffes cannot cough!
• Each marking on a giraffe is not the same! 
• A giraffe can clean its ears with its 24 inch tongue!
• Full grown giraffes can run up to 40 mph!

Akagera Safari - Michael

Driving through Akagera National Park was not the roughest dirt road I have been on since coming to Rwanda but it was long, dusty and hot--though well worth it! We packed food and camping gear to last us the weekend.  We safaried with our British friends with two boys 11 and 8yrs old.  As we drove into the park our conversations and card games ended.  Binocs were passed around, field guides were opened, and cameras gotten out.  

We leaned out the windows and climbed on the roof to watch zebras meander through the bush and a male impala lope across the road with a score of females.  Occasionally we saw a warthog family trot away through the tall grass with their tails raised high or an African Horn Bill or Go-away bird with a call that sounds like:  “Go-a-way! Go-a-way!”

2 of the 5 giraffes we saw. The baby
still had its umbilical cord. 

After a little while the rolling hills and bush spilled out onto a large open plain of dry grass, dotted with groups of zebra.  Here we spotted a family of Masai giraffe:  three adults and two young ones, one was so young it still had his umbilical cord.

After driving through the park, we came to our campsite at dusk on top of rolling hills speckled with clumps of brush and acacia. (For those of you who live near our home town, it was very similar to the hills between Redding and Red Bluff during summer).  To the east, the hills continued but with the glint of metal roofs and the scattered herds of long horned cattle owned by Rwandans.   In the west, lay wetlands and occasional lakes with the Akagera River flowing through on its way to Victoria Lake and the Nile.  Beyond the river lay Tanzania receding in the distance.

I got 2 crocs and a hippo to show it's nose for this picture.
 We saw 8 crocodiles and 5 or 6 hippos in just one small cove.

On day 2 we followed the broken branches
and giant scat piles of this guy till we
at last caught up to him.

Our muffler fell off on our way out of the park
The rough roads weren't very kind to the car.

The East African animals are not as numerous in Akagera Park as some parks in Kenya or Tanzania. The park’s land was reduced to nearly 2/3 to provide land for returning refugees after the ’94 genocide.  Lions, if any, have been reduced to a few and rhinos were all poached during the war. But elephants and giraffe have been brought into the park and are increasing. Crocodiles and hippos thrive in the lakes and there are over 500 species of birds.  There are also leopards, but we didn’t get to see any this trip. )-; 

Driving across plain in search of giraffes

Life with Cows -Nathan

When we moved into our house, we took on the responsibility of taking care of 3 cows belonging to our landlord--a calf born in October, the young mother, and another female.

About a month ago, our landlord gave away one of the cows, because he owed a friend who had done him a favor. In a poor African culture where there is not a lot of money, people depend on help from each other to get things done. Giving a cow is not just a nice thing to do, but an obligation. There was a small ceremony and the landlord gave away the healthiest cow, and left us the sick cow.



cows pen



After a few days the mother recovered, and we discovered she was pregnant again!! Her last pregnancy was triplets, and only one survived. We called a local cow vet to check for brucellosis, a disease that can kill the cow and make people sick. Thankfully, the test came out clear. We also took a 3 day training in animal husbandry and gardening to learn more about caring for the cow and preparing for the birth in November.

Since the training we have developed a routine that includes washing the cow, cleaning the stalls, and Michael and I milking. We get about 4-5 liters a day but hope to get more after the baby is born. We haven’t yet started making cheese, but make yogurt and kefir daily, and we sell any extra milk. Our cows don’t give very much milk because of their breed—local and a small part Friesian. There is another local cow-the long horned Ankole cow-that also doesn’t give very much milk (only 1-2 liters a day).

 We have really enjoyed having cows, we have learned a great deal, and are having a very good experience. And I hope to expand to chickens, rabbits and maybe goats in the future.