Giraffe Center

The Giraffe Center is about 5km from the center of Nairobi and offers a fantastic opportunity to get up close and personal with giraffes (as well as feed them!).

The center was established to protect a certain sub species of giraffe called Rothschild Giraffe, of which there were once less than two hundred left in the wild. Lake Nakuru National Park is one of the last places where you can see these animals in their natural habitat. The center was started by the late Betty and Jock Leslie-Melville in 1979, after they obtained two young giraffes, enabling them to start a breeding program.

Rothschild Giraffes are easily identifiable from other giraffe sub species as they have no markings under their knees, giving an impression that they are wearing white socks. The left picture is a Rothschild Giraffe with its white socks. You can see that it is different to the below giraffe from a different subspecies.

Also the orange-brown patch markings on their coat are less jagged and sharp compared with other giraffe subspecies. Rothschild Giraffes are taller than most others (measuring up to 6m tall) and they live in small herds of females or males – only mixing for mating. Their gestation period is 14-15 months.

The center is also home to several warthogs, which freely roam the area along with the giraffes.

If you would like to get up close to these incredible animals during your time in Kenya let us know and we can include a visit to the center in your itinerary.