Giraffes on the Golf Course: The Towers of Vipingo Ridge
As the wildlife of Vipingo Ridge goes viral after giraffe interrupted play at last weekend’s Ladies European Tour (LET) we thought we’d share more about the story of our Giraffes. Today is also Valentine’s Day, the namesake of one of our wild giraffes, as 14th February is the day he was rescued from drought in 2021.
Giraffes are listed as a vulnerable species
Giraffes once occupied much of the savannah and savannah woodlands of Africa, but the species currently remains in only a fraction of that expansive range. According to the IUCNs 2023 estimate, giraffes have undergone a 36–40 percent population decline over the past 30 years. Today roughly 97,500 giraffes remain in Africa — compared to the 150,000-plus giraffes recorded in Africa in 1985.
The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is now threatened with extinction and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. It is this concern that drives Vipingo Ridge to win space for wildlife for conservation of giraffe. This is a giraffe breeding program for reintroduction and repopulation to other areas with no or few numbers, through partnerships with Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) and Reteti Elephant Sanctuary through the Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Winning Space for Wildlife
In October 2023 we celebrated 3 years since the reintroduction or return home of many species, explaining how Vipingo Ridge became a Wildlife Sanctuary and the phased introduction of different species. This blog: Bringing wildlife home to Vipingo Ridge: 3 years on discusses the program, but we did not elaborate on, arguably our most popular species, the journey of our giraffes.
Preparing for the introduction of giraffes
The habitat assessment conducted by KWS on behalf of Vipingo Ridge Wildlife Sanctuary at the start of the project recommended giraffes as some of the animals that could to be introduced to Vipingo Ridge. This was as a result of adequate cover and feed including a variety of trees and shrubs. Giraffes spend a large part of each day browsing and grazing, and as they are wild it is important they are able to forage and find the native food that is their preference.
Special considerations were made for the holding spaces or bomas for the giraffes. We closely followed specifications from our partner organisations to have comfortable and familiar open spaces, with the right conditions, but still enclosed to enable close monitoring and care.
Giraffe Boma
The giraffe boma construction commenced in March 2021. The boma was constructed using blue gum posts as they are stout and more animal friendly. The poles were treated against termites and other insects for them to last. Main specifications include:
1. Walls made sturdy enough to withstand the pressure since giraffes tend to lean against fences to reach browsing trees outside.
2. Boma walls covered with tightly fitting poles to prevent the giraffe from pushing or seeing through.
3. Walkway/viewing platform constructed at head height for hanging browse, filling troughs, observation and feeding.
4. Boma doors of sufficient height to avoid stumbling over and wide enough for ease of entry for the giraffe, handlers and equipment.
5. Troughs mounted in the boma at a height of 3m from the ground.
6. Offloading ramp dug into the ground with the width same as the doors.
Giraffe Boma inspection underway by Kenya Wildlife Services Capture Specialist and Vet
The arrival of Valentine and Naikorori
The first 2 reticulated giraffes a female named Naikorori and the male Valentine arrived at Vipingo Ridge Wildlife Sanctuary on 7th November 2021.
The 2 were 7 and 9 months old respectively when they arrived with us.
The translocation was guided by the guidelines for translocation of wildlife species in Kenya (2018) and implemented in the context of prevailing Kenyan laws and policies pertaining to biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of natural resources and veterinary practice.
The heartbreak of animal rescues
The giraffes were rescued from the grips of the prolonged drought in Samburu and our Wildlife Sanctuary was the only ideal and approved sanctuary for them. They were bottle fed on goat milk and weaned with camel milk until they were old enough to exclusively browse on the fresh green trees and shrubs in the Sanctuary. They were also supplemented with lucerne hay, pellets and salt lick blocks.
The late Naikorori who would now be 2 years and 10 months old, very sadly did not make it through to adolescence. Our Rangers provided 24/7 care and were devasted to lose her.
This loss is very hard. All measures are taken to help the animals, but the circumstances of their rescue can sometimes be too much to recover from. It does make the hard work to rescue and rehabilitate these wonderful animals all the more rewarding when successful, but is a tough journey.
Valentine is turning 3
February marks the third birthday of the male giraffe Valentine who has been taking the world media by storm. He is thriving and though you can see marks of his early trauma in his striking skin, he now roams 1000s of acres with his tower (the collective noun for giraffes) with graceful confidence.
Male Giraffe Valentine of Vipingo Ridge, aged 3
Introducing Kampoyee and Shah
Kampoye and Shah have a rather interesting history.
Kampoye was born at a time when there was an extreme drought in Northeastern Kenya. She was named after the area where she was rescued which means ‘a swampy area’ and her mother abandoned her because of the drought.
Shah too has had a rather tough childhood. Her name means ‘horizon’ in Samburu language. She was rescued at a place that is on the horizons of Reteti Elephant Sanctuary. According to the villagers, Shah’s mother had been eaten by a lion at the time of her rescue and she was found wondering alone in the bush at just 3-4 days old.
World Giraffe Day
The two juvenile female giraffes were translocated from Reteti in Samburu to Vipingo Ridge on 19th June 2022. This was after a series of meetings, planning and approval from both Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust and KWS. The translocation was authorized and carried out in liaison with the Kenya Wildlife Service and Wildlife Research and Training Institute teams on the ground. The giraffes arrived on the 20th June 2022. Both Shah and Kampoye have thrived since arriving (just in time for World Giraffe Day) and all the giraffes freely roam together as a family unit.
Each year 21st June marks World Giraffe Day. The annual event was established by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) as a way to celebrate the tallest animal in the world. Beyond celebration the GCF aims to raise funds for the conservation of the wild giraffe population across the world and to raise awareness about the challenges these animals face.
The Future
Our Tower of 3 giraffes move majestically around the Ridge, mostly undisturbed by their fellow human residents. They interact peacefully with their fellow herd animals such as the zebra, oryx and eland that spend time on the golf course. The Vipingo Ridge Ranger team are sensitive to minimising human wildlife contact in order for these self sufficient animals to live as wildly as possible. The giraffe are inquisitive though, and occassionally interact with our guests. They have an unexpected routine that often involves visiting the Vipingo Ridge airstrip to watch the scheduled plane landing at a distance each day. The two girls are still young for breeding, but Valentine leads and is clearly protective of the younger females of his adopted family group. These animals are treated with respect and guests must always be concious they are wild animals.
Following the success of the giraffe integration into the Vipingo Ridge Wildlife Sanctuary, we have formalized our partnership with Reteti Elephant Sanctuary through a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and look forward to strengthening giraffe conservation through the winning space for wildlife project.
Would you like to experience the enchanting combination of Wildlife and Golf for yourself? We welcome guests to stay in our resort, offering hotel room style accommodation, self catered villas or private home hire. You can play the course for reduced green fees when you stay with us.
