Today it
seemed like I was on full tourist mode! It was so much fun J
First, Ada
and I went to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. This foundation is run solely
on donations and “adopting”. They save baby elephants whose parents have been
killed from poaching or have otherwise disappeared. Between the hours of 11 to
12 noon, they bring out 24 baby elephants to be fed. They bottle feed all of
the elephants and the elephants are then able to play around a little bit.
First we say the youngest elephants, then after they left we saw the older
elephants (about toddler age). They played in the dirt and water and would
throw mud on each other. I was able to pet one and they are very very rough.
And hairy! Some of the younger ones were clumsy and wobbly, and some of the
older ones already had tusks. They were all adorable though.
After the
elephants, we went to a giraffe manor. We were able to pet giraffes and feed
them. There was only one giraffe at the deck though, and a lot of people, so it
was difficult to get many good photos. I was able to kiss the giraffe a few
times though. You put a pellet of food between your lips, and the giraffe “kisses”
is out. It is a bit slobbery, but it is all part of the experience right! Their
fur is nice and soft though, and they are very graceful creatures.
After
kissing the giraffes, we went to Mamba Village. It has crocodiles, tortoises
and ostriches. Ada and I got our own personal guide. Crocodiles are really very
interesting creatures. They can live till they are 100 years old! Think of
their behaviors as you would think of a human. They are all crabby when hungry
and tired. The female moms are irritated when prodded often. The males fathers don’t
let others touch their food, and will fight for what they believe is theirs.
Teenagers are the most aggressive and irritated easily and quickly and will go
from 0 to 60 in seconds. If you mess with one, you mess with all. And the
babies are the calmest. They do bite though. I was able to hold a baby
crocodile too! (Don’t worry, all fingers are still intact.)
Next we saw
some tortoises. I held a really big one that was 50 years old I believe, and
she was heavy! Then I held a younger one which was much easier. Then we visited
the ostriches and I was allowed to feed a male ostrich through the fence.
So that is
the basic gist of my day!
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