By Lente Roode | Project Leader
Shuri is hands-down the sweetest giraffe we know. She loves getting affection from the curators at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, and particularly loves to nibble at their sleeves. She is also a natural when it comes to posing for the camera, much to the delight of her social media followers. Shuri was recently gifted with some warm blankets for the winter, which she happily showed off. In the wild, baby animals seek the comfort and shelter of their mothers when the weather turns cold. As Shuri does not have this option, the blankets provide a comforting, warm extra layer of protection, especially for the early winter mornings.
As she continues to grow, she is encouraged to drink more water and less milk; and is now down to just one morning bottle per day. The curators suspect that she drinks water on her own at night, so they have stopped her water bottle feeds altogether. To ensure that she is taking in an adequate amount of fluid, her hydration levels are being monitored closely.
While the other animals at the Centre enjoy their lucerne bales, Shuri is not a fan, so she is now being fed “boskos”, which is Afrikaans for “bush food”, a complete feed for herbivores which is high in Acacia fibre. Thankfully, Shuri also loves to munch on leaves, which make up the majority of her food intake.
When it comes to sleeping arrangements, Shuri has decided that she’s a big girl now and no longer wants to come into the boma at the end of each evening. Instead, she prefers to stay on her own in the surrounding bush area. This is a good sign, as it means that she is maturing and becoming more used to being a wild animal out in nature. Because she is still a baby, she is prone to getting very ill if bitten by ticks, hence, she needs to be treated regularly for ticks and fleas. However, Shuri is well looked after and monitored daily to do what can be done to prevent diseases in advance.
As part of the rewilding process, the curators are going to start weaning her at the end of the month. We will, of course, keep you updated on her progress.
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