A Picnic with Giraffes

Over the past several years of zookeeping, I've gotten my hands on (or in the mouths of) a host of large mammals - African and Asian elephants, polar bears, bison, and three species of rhino among them.  There are, admittedly, not typical experiences for the average zoo visitor.   Many zoos do, however, offer their guests a chance to get very up close and personal with one of the largest land animals in the world - and to feed one, too.

Giraffe feeding stations have popped up at zoos all over the United States, in AZA, ZAA, and unaffiliated institutions alike.  The premise is simple - you enter an elevated deck, purchase a nutritious snack of sorts, and then marvel as an eighteen-inch long prehensile black tongue swoops down to take it from you... which in turn is attached to a head the size of a coffee table, which is in turn attached to a neck taller than you are.  It's an awesome experience, the memory of which can stay with a person for quite a long time... especially for those folks who do not have daily encounters with large exotic mammals.

I'm not sure which zoo first developed the giraffe feeding station, but the concept has certainly spread.  Many of the zoos I've visited are now remodeling their giraffe habitats to facilitate feeding.  There are factors that have to be taken into consideration when planning these.  Is it safe for visitors, for one thing?  Giraffes have big heads, and big animals moving their big heads suddenly can scythe through a crowd of visitors if they are allowed to get too much of their neck into the visitor area.  Is the feeding deck inadvertently causing aggression, as animals compete for access for the treats?  How is the feeding deck impacting the daily diet?  Most importantly, is it safe for the animals?  A giraffe feeding station should be monitored by zoo employees and kept closed off when not open.  Otherwise, there is always a risk that people could bring their own food and try to feed the animals with bad consequences for their health.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander, they say, but is what's good for the giraffe good for, say, the okapi?  Giraffes have always been among the most popular of zoo animals, and the addition of feeding and interaction opportunities has only made them even more popular.  I wonder if there are other opportunities to incorporate supervised feeding and contact programs for other zoo animals which might encourage more zoos to highlight and work with those species.  Elmwood Park Zoo, for example, has a feeding opportunity at its American bison exhibit (and, incidentally, now they do giraffes as well).  If visitors were given the chance to feed a bongo, or a markhor, or a Burmese brow-antlered deer, would they be as enthralled?  Could it lead to more interest in those species, more connections formed?

Maybe, though I'll admit I doubt it.  In the public esteem as in real life, few animals loom as high as the giraffe.