Measuring 4.5 to 5.7 meters high with the males growing to 6 meters sometimes, the world's tallest mammal, the rosy child or Nubian Giraffes were introduced in the Lake Mburo National Park located in Kiruhura district 54km from Mbarara city.
While on a game drive in the Lake Mburo National Park with the well-versed tour guide Asiingwiire Rebecca, she noted that "Fifteen individuals were introduced in the park when they were translocated from Murchison Falls National Park in July 2015."
"They were brought to reduce in habitat manipulation. In the past, Lake Mburo National Park was more of an open grassland savanna but because of climatic changes, seed dispersal, the trees have grown so many and closed most of the park and made it more woodland savanna and most of the grazers prefer open areas."
She says of the 15, four were males and 11 females but have multiplied and are currently approaching 70 Giraffes.
Asiingwiire highlights a few interesting features about a giraffe noting that the Nubian giraffes (darker) (both male and female) grow older their rectangular patterns each different from the other, do not actually cover the whole body but stop in the knees, grow darker and have whitish legs.
On the head of the giraffe, there are hornlike features known as ossicones and these are used during fights with other animals protecting their heads from injuries in a process known as necking as they use the necks to fight.
The male giraffe however has got three ossicones unlike the females that have two.
The world's tallest mammal gives birth to one calf and on rare occasions to twins but never has any been registered at Lake Mburo National Park and has a gestation period of 15 months.
Both males and females live together but males fight for mating rights and as some males become losers, these can be docile and hang around or move away to avoid fights.
"Several males can be seen in a herd of giraffes but when one male is exercising the mating rights," Asingwire says.
Giraffes can live for 25 years as their life expectancy in the wilderness and in protected areas like parks can live beyond that.
"They feed on tree leaves and most of the trees they feed on have thorns but with their about 50cm long hairy tongues, they fold the tongue on the branches hold with the upper jaw and with a strong force they strip the leaves in one direction of the branch and thorns on one side and be able to pick the leaves amidst the thorns without getting injuries," Asiingwire shared
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The seven elongated bones in their neck enables them feed on trees of different heights and on shorter trees, they bend their necks and legs
The biggest predators to the giraffes are lions which are not in Lake Mburo national park but also leopards can hunt for the newly born giraffes when they are still small.
The trees fed on are left broken and exposed to direct sunlight making them dry where they are sold and collected as firewood. Giraffes mount like cows to mate.
Giraffes can only be found in Murchison Falls National Park which is their mother home and with their biggest population, Lake Mburo National Park, Pian Upe wildlife reserve in Karamoja and Kidepo Valley National Park.
