But he really loves me, I know he does!

Earlier this summer I spent some time at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. While I was there, we trekked all the way to the back of the zoo property to check out the giraffe pen. The pen was split into two sections and contained four giraffes.

Three smaller giraffes were in the smaller section of the pen. The attendant explained that they were all females, but not quite ready to be introduced to the male giraffe. The male giraffe was in the other section of the pen and was enormous. The smaller giraffe’s, which ranged up to two years old, huddled together eating grass and otherwise just hanging out.

The male giraffe didn’t care too much about their age. He was, I think, pretty much aware of the three youngsters. In fact, at one point he came storming down from the top of the pen getting up to a full gallop. It is a strange, interesting, and somewhat funny thing to see a giraffe at top speed. The legs are all over the place, and the feet clomp down on the ground leaving small puffs of cumulous dust in his wake. As he progressed down the hill, I started to wonder if he would ever stop. But suddenly he put on the brakes, and turned his head toward the three girls and leered at them with a sort of “see what I can do” expression.

I suppose giraffes have to make their presence known too. But the experience I had from that guy trundling down the hill in his pen was enough to make me realize how lucky I was to have the fence between us.

Apparently not everyone has the same appreciation for the giraffe’s abilities that I do. According to a recently published Associated Press story, Amanda Hall, a 24-year-old California resident, thought it would be cool to climb into the giraffe exhibit at a zoo in Madison Wisconsin.

She probably should have seen what I saw in Maryland. Needless to say, the giraffe was not in favor of Hall being in the pen and promptly kicked her in the face.

But like most relationships, it didn’t start out that way. It seems Wally, a two year old giraffe, at first licked her face. It was only after the licking encounter that he turned and gave her a kick.

The keepers told police that Hall was pretty fortunate, since giraffes were known to kill lions by kicking them. To my recollection, I’ve never seen any animal footage of a lion attacking a giraffe, and my history of watching shows like Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom is well documented. Jim, I know for sure, would not mess with a giraffe. In one show, I recall the whole crew running from a giraffe that actually bumped into their Range Rover.

Still, that’s a different story and there is some good news to this story.

Unlike many places, like Richmond, where the animals are punished for the actions of the visitors, the Wisconsin authorities got this one right. Hall was charged with harassment of zoo animals, with a fine up to $686. The police said Hall told them that she climbed into the pen because she loved giraffes.

For me, I am just glad the zoo authorities didn’t take an extreme position. God knows it would have been a horrible solution to merely kill the offending giraffe. I’m not totally sure why people feel the need to get close to these animals. And why anyone would resort to teasing them is beyond me. At some level, I suppose they are just trying to evoke some movement from the brutes. But ultimately they are wild animals and prone to attack. People should enjoy the critters, even if the critters aren’t exactly enjoying themselves.