Kissing Giraffes

In 1979 a Scottish earl, Jock Leslie-Melville, opened a giraffe breeding center. There are three varieties of giraffes: reticulated giraffes, Masai giraffes, and Rothschild giraffes. The Rothschild is an endangered species. In 1979 there were only 130 Rothschild giraffes left in Africa. The Giraffe Center opened and breeding of these beautiful animals started. There are now over 300 of the giraffes. After they are born here at the center, they are released into the wild, mostly near the Lake Nakuru area in Kenya.

We started our visit at the Giraffe Center with a morning kiss.





















There are warthogs that live near the center as well. The guides call them the vacuum cleaners. They eat up the pellets that are dropped and not eaten by the giraffes.





Jackson actually liked feeding the warthogs more than the giraffes.



We also got to see four tortoises. Here's one of them.



We bought carved wooden birds for everyone.



And Jackson says, "When we're at the Giraffe Center, it's hot. When it's hot we should eat ice cream." So, ice cream it was!!



As we arrived back at Tyler and Amy's house, we found a Jackson chameleon crossing the sidewalk. What a treat!