GIRAFFES a tall story?

« Dr Ian John Whyte is an independent environmental consultant who retired from SANParks in 2007. He was previously engaged in full-time wildlife research in Kruger National Park from 1970-2007. At the time of retirement, he was responsible for the coordination of all research projects pertaining to elephant, buffalo and other large herbivores and rare antelope. He is a member of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission’s African Elephant Specialist Group. He has co-authored two field guides to the birds of the Kruger National Park and is in the process of publishing a book about his life and work in KNP.

Everybody loves giraffes. With their tall elegance, gentle nature and large limpid eyes, they are ‘unlikely’ animals – a bit of a curiosity of the natural world. A little girl who had just seen her first giraffe at the zoo asked God in her prayer, “Dear God, did you mean to make a giraffe or did you had a mistake?”