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Johnny ran back to the jeep as fast as his legs could carry him! “Mom, Dad,” he shouted breathlessly, “you’ve got to come see!” When Johnny’s parents and his older sister Pam reached the clearing, it was almost too good to be true.

There, just about a hundred feet away on the grassy savanna, were three statuesque giraffes! Even Pam who had protested their safari vacation, lost her resentful slouch and watched intently as the tallest of the trio reached high into the thorny acacia trees with his tongue to snatch the tender top growth.

“Good grief! How long are those tongues anyway?” Pam exclaimed, a little surprised at her self. “Eighteen inches,” her brother stated without a moment’s hesitation.

Johnny, who had read everything he could get his hands on about African wildlife before their trip, immediately informed his family that the tallest one was probably a male. Male giraffes, also called bulls, can be 18 feet tall while the females, known as cows, are usually a foot or two shorter.

Entranced by the golden, brown spotted giraffes, the family watched them browse the trees and brush. The bulls forage higher in the trees than the cows, so there’s no competition for food. Giraffes spend 16 to 20 hours a day feeding and can eat up to 140 pounds of fresh leaves! Not even thorns can slow them down! And like cows, they have a 4-chambered stomach.

The brother and sister were surprised when their mother said that the little one was practically a baby. Astonished at this pronouncement, Pam asked, “How can anything that’s six feet tall be a baby?”

“I flipped through some of your brother’s books and one of them said that the babies, well actually they’re called calves, are born six feet tall and weigh 100 to 150 pounds!” she explained. "And it only takes about five minutes for their wobbly legs to stabilize." As if to prove her point, the little giraffe sidled up to its mother and began nursing.

The family continued to watch while the giraffes ambled toward a watering hole. Their long necks moved in rhythm with their gait and helped the giraffes to keep their balance. Giraffes can go without water for weeks at a time, but when they do need to take a drink, their usually graceful stance becomes a bit awkward. They have to either splay their front legs or bend them and then lower their heads.

If you or I would lower our heads from an 18-foot height down to ground level, we would probably get dizzy or even pass out from the sudden change in blood pressure. But the giraffe’s neck veins contain valves that help to maintain an even blood pressure so that they won’t black out every time they swing their heads up or down.

A giraffe’s height, sharp long-range eyesight, and keen sense of smell give it a tremendous ability to track predators. They are extremely vigilant and attuned to danger. Something must have caught the bull’s attention because he lifted his head from the water, looked to his side and immediately galloped away. Following his lead, mother giraffe nudged her baby and the two of them took off for a thicket of trees that shimmered in the sultry distance. Fleet and graceful, giraffes can run as fast as 35 miles per hour.

As if awakening from a dream, Johnny, Pam and their mom and dad, all took a deep breath and looked at each other. They hadn’t realized how intensely they had been watching the giraffes. As grins stretched across their faces they all began to talk at once, even Pam.

“Did you notice what a light color the baby’s spots were? Maybe they get darker as they get older.”

“Hey, Johnny, how long do they live?”

“We’ve been standing here an hour and it only felt like 10 minutes!”

“Do you think they saw us? Did we scare them?”

“They ran fast, even the little guy!”

“Are those little horns on the top of their heads?”

“Do they ever sit down?” “Do you think they sleep standing up?”

“Aren’t they gorgeous?!”

“Can they make any sounds?”

Pam ruffled Johnny’s hair and knew that when they all calmed down he would fill in the blanks. Sharing this amazing experience with her family was a lot of fun. Maybe going on safari together wasn’t such a bad idea after all.