The Giraffe Centre is located in
Lang'ata
Lang'ata is a predominantly middle-class
residential suburb of Nairobi in Kenya. The suburb consists of many smaller housing developments, referred to as estates. They include Nairobi Dam, Otiende, Southlands, Ngei, Jambo estate, Onyonka, Mada ...
, approximately from the centre of
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
,
Kenya
)
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. It was established in order to protect the vulnerable
giraffe
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...
, that is found only in the grasslands of East Africa.
In 1979, the Giraffe Center, a nature sanctuary for visiting and including wildlife conservation education for urban school children, was started by Jock Leslie Melville, the Kenyan grandson of a Scottish Earl, when he and his wife Betty Leslie Melville, Betty captured two baby giraffe to start a programme of breeding giraffe on their Langata property, site of the present Centre. Since then the programme has had huge success, resulting in the introduction of several breeding pairs of Rothschild Giraffe into Kenyan national parks.
By 1983 enough money had been raised to establish the Giraffe Visitor's Center as a tourist destination just outside Nairobi.
The main attraction for both school children and visitors is feeding giraffes from a raised observation platform. The Giraffe Center is also home to several warthogs which freely roam the area along with the giraffes.
Notes
Further reading
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External links
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Tourist attractions in Nairobi
Zoos in Kenya
Zoos established in 1983