Please Feed the Giraffes
You’re eye don’t deceive you. Those are indeed giraffes poking their heads inside that home. Or I should say, the Giraffe Manor Hotel, and if you book a night, they’ll be peeking in on you and begging for your breakfast. You may even be lucky enough to get a giraffe kiss.
Located right next to the equator in Nairobi, Kenya, the Giraffe Manor is home to a herd of Rothschild giraffes. Every morning, the giraffes swing by for breakfast, sticking their long necks inside the windows looking for a tasty treat. And if they get hungry in the afternoon, they may even stop by for cocktail hour or a late night snack, and guess what. You get to feed them. Unlike most establishments who forbid catering to animals, here it’s encouraged, and has been since 1974 when the manor’s owners Betty and Jock Leslie-Melville adopted their first Rothschild giraffe, Daisy.
At the time, giraffes from the nearby national park were already wandering into their yard and poking their heads in the windows. So when Betty heard the population of Rothschild giraffes had shrunk to a mere 120 members and was in danger of extinction due to being favored by hunters and their habitat being turned into farmland, she begged Jock to let her adopt one. And they did. Then two years later, they adopted five more. And so began their conservation effort to save the Rothschild giraffe.
The entire story is outlined in their book, “Raising Daisy Rothschild,” which was subsequently turned into the movie, “The Last Giraffe.” But the undoubted best way to understand their tender tale is to see it in person as so many others — including celebrities — have. Mick Jagger. Johnny Carson. Marlon Brando. To name a few.
The manor, modeled after a Scottish hunting lodge, offers six bedrooms, exquisite meals served three times a day and of course, the once-in-a-lifetime experience of petting and feeding giraffes. Unfortunately, once in a lifetime experiences often come with larger-than-normal price tags, and the Giraffe Manor Hotel is no exception.
But come on, you get to wake up to giraffes outside your window. How cool is that?
