1 62 SAFARI 



Suddenly Percival seized my arm. "Look!" he 

 whispered. Right below us on the edge of a little 

 pool stood a full-grown giraffe. After a long scrutiny 

 of the country around, it approached the water 

 very slowly and waited as if listening. There was no 

 cover for a lion to hide behind, except for the little 

 knoll on which we perched; and the land about was 

 as flat as a billiard table. For long minutes it seemed 

 as if the giraffe were only going to have a look at the 

 water. It craned its silly neck this way and that; 

 it cocked its eye at the pool, which must have been 

 very tempting to its parched tongue. But it did not 

 drink. Nor did we move. I think we both were 

 anxious to see what the animal would do. 



Finally it began slowly to spread its four feet. 

 Despite its long neck it could not lean over far enough 

 to reach the surface of the water. It had to lower 

 its whole body by dropping the center of gravity in 

 the same way one lowers a moving picture camera by 

 spreading the legs of the tripod. Once it assumed 

 this awkward position the giraffe seemed to realize 

 that the sooner it drank the safer it was. Only by a 

 sort of hop and rear could it possibly assume its 

 position for running again. His long neck swung 

 down. Into the water it pliuiged its slender taper- 

 ing nose and drank for what seemed an hoiir to the 

 pleased pair of men who were spying on it. 



I found the same thing later at my waterhole 



^ 



