The Giraffe Brothers - Snared giraffe to the right...

The Giraffe Story by Claire and Stella

Once upon a time we were driving on safari with Mom and Dad and Dave and Michele in the Serengeti. We were watching four young male giraffes when Dave pointed out that there was a wire around the neck of one giraffe. The wire was wrapped tightly and it was dragging on the ground. It looked like it had been there for some time and the giraffe didn’t like it one bit.

We needed to call somebody to help. Amazingly our cell phones worked in the Serengeti and we still had a little battery juice left. First we called Annette who lives at Tarangire National Park to see what she knew. She said, “Call Elephant Charles.” Charles works in Tarangire, too, and he knows a lot about animals in Tanzania. Mama called Charles but he said that the vet he knew in the Serengeti was out of the country because this was Christmas Eve. We were just feeling discouraged and had meanwhile discovered that our Land Rover wouldn’t start, when the phone rang. It was Annette again. She said that Vet Richard was NOT out of the country and she gave us his number.

Daddy called Richard and he said, “Thank you for calling. Let me get a few guys and put my kit together with a rope and I’ll be there within an hour. Can you stay with the giraffe?” Daddy said, “Yes, we’ll do it.”

Daddy and Dave got out and pretended to fix the car while Michele videotaped and when Mama tried it again, what do you know? It worked. So we turned the car around and got into a good position to watch the giraffe. We ate our box lunches while we waited. After about an hour, Richard and his car full of helpers arrived.

They all got out of their car and Richard put on a special veterinarian jump suit. It was white. The men all practiced with the rope. Richard explained to us that if the giraffe didn’t fall down on its own, they would have to wrap a rope around its legs and pull it down. One of the men stood in the middle like a giraffe and they practiced wrapping his legs and pulling him down. Richard loaded his dart gun and told us that we could follow them, but we should stay back about 100 yards so that we could watch without being in danger. Richard’s wife became the driver of their car and Mama followed in ours as we set off after the giraffes who were walking across the plains and through some small acacia trees by now.

After a few minutes Richard’s car went off road in pursuit of the giraffe. We followed but stayed back quite a ways. We watched as Richard’s first dart missed the giraffe. The following went on and on for almost two hours. It was hot in the Serengeti afternoon, but we were all very patient and anxious about what would happen. We just kept following Richard’s car across the bush. He had to shoot four darts before he finally got a good one into the giraffe’s back hip. We could see the dart hanging out of the giraffe.

The giraffe began to walk very funny. The other three giraffes were watching it all the while and sticking close by. They seemed worried about their brother. Finally, the giraffe was groggy enough, but not falling down, so Richard’s wife stopped their car and the men all jumped out with the rope. About six men took the two ends and ran towards the giraffe. They brought the rope around from the front to the back and pulled that giraffe down perfectly. We were right there looking straight on with an excellent view of the whole thing.

The Team wraps the giraffe's feet and pull it down for rescue

As soon as the giraffe was down, Mama started the car and we drove up close. Daddy jumped out to get photos of the giraffe while it was on the ground. Richard very quickly snipped the wire that turned out to be a nasty snare. Then he gave the giraffe a shot of medicine to reverse the sleeping dart and the giraffe immediately jumped up. Richard said that giraffes cannot lie down for more than a couple of minutes because their hearts pump so hard to get the blood through their long necks to their heads and when they are down, this pumping is too strong. It can kill them very quickly.

The Amazing Giraffe Rescue Team with clipped snare

We all watched and cheered as the giraffe ran across the grassy plain. It was a happy time. We stood around and talked with Richard and the other helpers for a few minutes and then it was time for us to get back on the road towards Lobo in the Northern Serengeti where we would spend Christmas Eve and morning. We felt very good about saving our Christmas giraffe.

Snares are still a big problem in Tanzania as poachers try to catch wild animals. Richard and his wife are working to teach people about the dangers of snares and about how to help the animals who get caught in them.

The End

Pre-Form One Student Kalai Sonjo

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