The Almighty Giraffe of Dabous

For those who wondered...there were 8 Sophies in the previoux pix... ^__^

As you already know....Giraffes are such astonishing creatures, they have inspired many people, artist and craftmen for a long time.

And I just learned something very exciting:  the oldest Giraffe art can be found in the Ténéré Desert in the heart of the Sahara. "Ténéré"comes from the Tuareg language and literally translated as ‘where there is nothing’.The region was not always a desert though. Million years ago it was a sea floor and later a tropical forest,then it became a fertile land inhabited by modern humans, and about 10,000 years ago, ancient hunters, the Kiffian people also called People of the Green Sahara, created rock engravings and paintings that can still be found across the region. One amazing engraving is found in Dabous in Niger.There two life-size giraffe are carved in stone. They were first recorded as recently as 1987 by Christian Dupuy. This is not sooo long ago!

I know you have 2 main questions that-if not answered- will make your sleep impossible

So let me quote the researchers to appease your mind ^__^:

question1 :
Why were giraffe chosen to adorn the outcrop? The selection is important - the carvings cannot be seen from the ground, but only by climbing onto the outcrop. Moreover, the area that was used - the stone canvas - had been prepared for the carvings.question 2:
Was it because these tall and graceful animals were perceived by a palaeolithic society as especially impressive: chimeric figures, with the face of a camel and the spots of a leopard, markings that had been portrayed with such attention to detail in the carvings; animals with a speed and ferociousness in self-defence that belied their unhurried gait? There is no other animal like a giraffe.

Or, perhaps their unique attribute resided in their unusually large eyes which may have attracted the attention of ancient cultures. The giraffes’ ability to see great distances, beyond scent or sound, would not have gone unnoticed, and may have become a metaphor for foresight and prediction.

source

David Coulson chairman of the Trust for African Rock Art says. 'We've been all over Africa, and the giraffe appears to dominate the art in most areas of the continent. It was an incredibly important animal for so many apparently unrelated cultures.' The Niger Sahara giraffe and its smaller companion both have a line coming out from the nose and terminating in the form of a tiny man. A painting found in South Africa depicts a giraffe with its head above the clouds and rain falling upon it. A painting in Namibia shows a giraffe's head and neck emerging from a cloud. A painting in Algeria depicts a tiny giraffe with a long neck like a tornado going into a cloud. An engraving in Libya shmws a man copulating with a giraffe. Another shows a man feeding the giraffe. 'Whatever it was, the giraffe was thought to be possessed of special powers,' Coulson says.



Giraffes are amazing creatures, arent' they? They have always had the power to charm us, humans. Sophie Hagirafa has a heavy heritage to follow. I think she is doing quite well... and until we can see Dabous Giraffes with our own eyes, we can dream about them with our Sophie!

Thank you Dan!

Giraffes fitted with GPS collars

I was going to write a bit about the western shore of the Sea of Galilee that I discovered yesterday but this piece of news was brought to my attention and it is so unique I had to share it with you!

As you know, before I started The Adventure with Sophie La Girafe, I did not know much about Giraffes, I did not know there were nine species of them. And I did not know there were issues.

Those past years giraffes have been threatened by desertification and droughts of their land, and as they have less and less to eat, they start invading neighbouring fields, causing extensive damage to crops and angering farmers who know how to use riffles.(source)

Giraffe tails are also highly prized by many African cultures. The desire for good-luck bracelets, fly whisks and thread for sewing or stringing beads have led people to kill the giraffe for its tail alone.
 
Thankfully Giraffes are protected by amazing decidated groups.
One of them is the British Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF). They have started fitting the giraffes with camouflaged GPS collar (photo here) in order to track them, understand their roaming and in the end protect them and the local populations. To fit the collar on a giraffe neck is not a small task as you can imagine. The Giraffes must be anesthetized and the fitting must be done in less then 30 minutes otherwise the giraffe may not survive. 7 people participate in that operation and they are all experts.
 
Another group is doing a lot for Giraffes. The Association for Saving the Giraffes of Niger, has focused on educating locals and compensating them for crop losses caused by giraffes. Killing a giraffe is also punishable with a five year jail-term.  They also began a program that hopes to shift villagers' perceptions of giraffes from foe to friend by providing microloans to villagers who engage in giraffe-friendly behavior. It also encourages tourism related to giraffe viewing. The result is that villagers now appreciate the animals because the animals have brought development to them. (source)
 
I am very admirative of people who work "behind the scenes" and are dedicated to their cause whatever it is. Next time I see a real Giraffe (Sorry Sophie! ^__^) I know I will look at her in a different light.

This picture is quite special.

Mother and Baby Giraffe's pix was taken n the Kidepo National Park, Uganda in 1967

Thank you mgjefferies !