Giraffe Birth in Samburu

My friend Shivani is a researcher in Samburu, Kenya, and last week she was lucky enough to see a giraffe give birth! She blogged about it here, with photos. I recently ran into her on Facebook, which is great because I was able to get live updates as she told about seeing the birth, then added photos, and then reported that a baby giraffe in the location she had left the baby was seen apparently abandoned and surrounded by lions as night was falling. The next morning, she reported the good news that the baby was still alive, with its mom, and had survived the night with three lions around it.

Shivani always has something interesting on her blog if you like African wildlife, and she has had an amzing month, running across wild dogs (which I am still hoping to see someday!), a cerval cat (also hoping to see!), and lions, her study subject.

Unfortunately, there are some political/police clashes near Samburu right now, so I hope they don't affect the park, and that they stop soon. If you are interested, you can read about the recent conflicts here and here. The Samburu are very peaceful people so I can't imagine what's up. As usual, Africa has the very best - and the very worst - to offer, almost simultaneously.