Incredible Giraffe Hotel of the World -part 2-

Earlier in March I introduced you to a very particular hotel in VietNam... today it will be in Kenya.

There is an incredible hotel called the Giraffe Manor. It seems to be a place for Giraffes while we humans are simply guests, or a place that has Giraffes for pets.

The first time I saw the pictures I thought they were not real. But they are!

Can you imagine having Breakfast at the Manor?

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In that Manor all giraffes have names, you can even hug some of them and as crazy as it sounds you share your stays with them. All the comments I have read about it say the same thing: it is purely magical and unique! It is relaxation and disorientation guaranteed. Only downfall: the price. Well -- this is not very surprising but but but much of the revenue is used for the conservation of giraffes and other species, including the black rhinoceros and the African elephant.

The Giraffe Manor was built in 1932 by Sir David Duncan. It is surrounded by 140 acres of its own park and forest thirty minutes from the centre of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city.
In 1974 Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville bought the Manor. They moved two highly endangered baby Rothschild giraffes to the estate, where they thrived and have produced several further generations of giraffe.

When Jock died, Betty decided to open her house, now called The Giraffe Manor, to visitors. It is the only place in the world where you can feed and photograph the giraffe over your breakfast table and at the front door, and even from a bedroom window.

Betty Leslie-Melville (née McDonnell) who passed away in 2005 had  founded a conservation organization called the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife USA .She was The "giraffe lady" and called herself "a total giraffe junkie". Based on that article she was no ordinary person!

British photojournalist Marion Kaplan  while living in Africa for 20 years took many pictures ...and among those this one:  Betty Leslie Melville, conservationist, popular lecturer and writer, with the Rothschild giraffe, Marlon, at Giraffe Manor, Nairobi (1977).

Isn't it amazing? Isn't it beautiful?

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I hope one day I can visit that place. I know I will be in awe. Just two weeks ago while visiting a Bioparc, I only had interest and eyes for the Giraffes. The way they walk, the way they care one for another, the way they share their feelings. I had never noticed before. True : my kids are teens now, it is not the same as visiting a zoo with toddlers who take all our attention. I probably missed all the charms of going to the zoo back then but it is not too late ^__^

The Giraffe Lady would have laughed most probably at our Little Sophie The Giraffe but I am also certain she would have liked her, knowing that Babies could grow with their own eco-friendly giraffey right from the start!

When Sophie Ha Girafa dreams...

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The legend of the Qilin

When I was 12 and recovering from appendicitis in the hospital, Louisette, a dear friend, gave me a book entitled "Contes et légendes des Antilles".
I have always loved reading but this book took me to another dimension and ever since I have been a big fan of legends and myths and while looking for tidbits about Giraffe, I discovered the legend of the Qilin.

The Qilin is believed to be a creature of perfect good will, gentleness and benevolence to all living creatures in Chinese mythology.

All over Asia Qilin is heard of and with names such as Kylin, Keilun, Kirin, Girin, Kirin, Sabitun Sabintu, Kỳ lân, Ki len. Except for Sabitun Sabintu, they are all quite similar for the non-linguist that I am, don't you think? There is also the famous Japanese beer named after it: kirin beer. I do not drink so I can only hope that its taste pays tribute to the Qilin.

Of course I had to know more about the Qilin.

I discovered that that perfectly kind creature is sometimes said to be a giraffe! There is even a theory that says that the Qilin is in fact a stylised representation of the giraffe !!! So now after legend, linguistics and beer we came full circle back to the giraffe ^__^ 

The connection between Qilin and Giraffe is based on the journeys of  Zheng He ( born in 1371 during the Ming dynasty), who travelled a lot as a mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral. He even reached East Africa (modern-day Kenya), and returned home to Beijing with 2 giraffes. It is known that these two giraffes were referred to as "Qilins". The Emperor proclaimed the giraffes magical creatures, whose capture signalled the greatness of his power. Besides the giraffes, Zheng He brought back from his trips ostriches, zebras, camels and ivory.

Some elements that lead to think that the giraffe is the Qilin are the following:

• The Qilin is described as a vegetarian creature of quiet nature -- just like the giraffe.
• The Qilin  has the reputation to be able to "walk on grass without disturbing it". This brings to mind the gracious walk of the giraffe's long legs.
• The Qilin is good and compassionate: the Qilin cannot even eat leaves that are still alive, it has to wait until they fell from the tree naturally. Ok, the giraffe eats leaves, fresh shoots, flowers, pods, and fruits from trees, of which acacias are the most important source of food so maybe when she first arrived in China she could not find fresh leaves in trees? dry sason oblige maybe? Or maybe she did not like the leaves that were there? She had no choice than to eat what she found: leaves that fell from the tree naturally!
• The Qilin has a voice like a thousand wind chimes.Hum! Giraffes are usually silent.They bellow, grunt or snort when alarmed, as when confronted by lions, and can also moo in distress. Maybe it does sound like a thousand wind chimes, but I would have have to pursue that further ^__^
• the Qilin avoids  fighting at all costs. Giraffes are peaceful! They are non-territorial and social. True,  sometimes they do fight: it is called "necking", and they usually "neck" over a female. But they have a good reason, right?

The following is the mythical part of the Qilin:

• It is considered to be the second most powerful creature in the Chinese culture, behind the dragon.
• It can live for 2000 years.
• It comes only in times of prosperity.
• It represents the strong positive ideas of auspiciousness, and its appearance is said to signify the arrival of a sage, the birth or death of a great ruler, or the compassion and generosity of a living one.
• It makes sure not to purposefully harm any other creature as long as you are good, but if you are bad, it can spit fire.
• Other special abilities also include walking on water, and flying. .
• That creature is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body.

So in conclusion it seems that the Qilin is "just" a myth, the name of which was borrowed and applied to the giraffes when they arrived in China in 1414. Also, giraffes have much longer necks than some of the Ming-era depictions of the Qilin. One example of Qilin / Kirin below....

Taken from the Obakemono Project 

Dear readers,
I hope you enjoyed reading about the Qilin as much as I enjoyed researching and writing about it and to conclude let me present you with our own interpretation of Sophie The Giraffe as a Qilin!

Thank You very much Dan

for helping me make Sophie into a unique  Qilin!

^__^