Giraffe Calf Visit

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I finally got a chance to visit the new giraffe calf at the Greenville Zoo. She arrived on March 19, but between illness and weather and work and kids it took 7 weeks before I had a chance to visit with her and her lovely parents, Autumn and Miles.

I chuckled at the man in the ticket booth when I arrived. "Just you?" he asked with a note of surprise in his voice.

"Yes." I didn't add that I was headed straight to the giraffes, do not stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

I bypassed all of the other lovely animals and hordes of school children, praying that the time of my arrival might keep the school group numbers down. It was after 11 am, so most schools are wrapping up and heading to the park for lunch by that time on a zoo field trip. Except for a few stragglers, that was the case.

Groups came and went, but I remained. I watched the giraffes and, of course, talked to them for a little over an hour. After awhile, I noticed one other person hanging out by herself, never leaving the giraffe enclosure. Eventually, we struck up a conversation. She, like me, had come just for the giraffes. Like me, she couldn't believe she'd been unable to get there sooner after the calf's birth. UNLIKE me, she'd actually had the opportunity to visit Africa and Giraffe Manor. I suffered a pang of jealousy for a moment, although her story of how she went with three almost-strangers made me happy she got the opportunity. Some day!

We both took cell phone pictures because we hadn't known we needed our cameras that day. I have a really good camera that does much better than a cell phone, but I didn't realize I would have an opportunity to visit the giraffes when I left the house that morning.

Still, I took several photos and videos. Some of my videos are on Instagram if you want to check them out.


Meanwhile, the little one is beautiful and inquisitive. Autumn looks calm and relaxed. Miles appears as inquisitive of his visitors as ever. The zoo is building a giraffe feeding station, and I can't wait for that to open. A few years ago, I met a zookeeper who knew Miles at the zoo he came from before Greenville. She told me he loves interacting with people. That will be fun to experience. He definitely did come over to check his admirers out several times during my visit.

Alas, I eventually became hungry and had to head out for lunch. 

Oh, and if you're reading this because you want the answer to my Giraffe Tuesday Trivia question on Facebook yesterday (May 16, 2023), then the answer was all of them! Want to find the question? Check it out on my Facebook Author Page or Instagram page and FOLLOW me there so you can guess the answer to my Giraffe Tuesday Trivia question next time. This is going to be a regular feature on my both sites moving forward.





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