Twiga

Giraffe have always been a little special for me at least in part because I was born in Tanganyika, where the national flag in the years of the British protectorate, 1919 - 1961, featured a giraffe, so I was a 'Tanganyika Twiga'.

Twiga is Swahili for giraffe, the giraffe of most of East Africa being the Masai giraffe, Giraffa tippelskirchi, which is one of the prettiest of the species with dark patches indented like vine leaves on a creamy background.

Giraffes are slow, elegant, thoughtful and inquisitive animals, enjoying pastimes such as....

....standing around the edge of runways - and, given the chance, on them - to watch 'planes come and go. This bush landing strip in Mikumi park, Tanzania, had to be cleared of giraffe before this 'plane could take off.

Embakazi airport, Nairobi's old airport, always used to have a group of giraffe standing around its fenced perimeter, craning their necks to watch the comings and goings.

Namibia is home to the Angolan giraffe. It's a subspecies of the Southern giraffe, Giraffa giraffa, which is paler than the Masai giraffe. This female, which we watched near Etendeka camp, had just given birth to her young.

There's something restful, peaceful, about watching giraffe. Although they can run, fast, when they need to, they are most usually found gathered in a sociable group under a shade tree, and always seem pleased to see anyone coming by.