THE HARMLESS GIRAFFE 



spokesman's own expression, the " youngster never said 

 a word," the young giraffe was finally overpowered and 

 driven into the " shamba," or farm, where it, in a very few 

 days, became so tame that it follov^ed its capturers around 

 like a dog, freely mingling with the cattle. 



But, alas ! a couple of days before it was to be shipped 

 down to the coast, it quite suddenly developed some malig- 

 nant disease, growing thinner and weaker every day. One 

 evening it did not return home with the cattle, and when 

 the people went out to look for the giraffe, it was found 

 dead under a mimosa tree, with two leopards feasting upon 

 its body. Whether slain by these cunning and powerful 

 bush animals, before it had died from its disease, or 

 whether it was found already dead by the leopards, could 

 not be ascertained, as the big felines had already devoured 

 too much of it. Later on I shall tell the circumstances 

 under which these two leopards were subsequently killed. 



A British sportsman and settler who keeps a regular 

 " shooting box " in the lower Kedong valley, only a day's 

 march from the Kijabe Railroad station, a Mr. Barker, 

 a great animal lover, succeeded also recently in capturing 

 a young giraffe, which soon became very tame. Some- 

 times, when "just playing," this beautiful animal hurt 

 several of the men by " friendly kicks " from its powerful 

 hoofs. Even this young giraffe developed some disease 

 and soon died, in spite of the best of care. These cases 

 show that, although it may be comparatively easy to cap- 

 ture and tame a " baby " giraffe, it is very difficult to bring 

 it up on ordinary cow's milk or artificial food until it is 

 old enough to make its own " living " from trees and 

 shrubs. 



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