Walking tall
Wednesday, 19.08.2009, 10:12am (GMT+5.5)
 The Nehru Zoological Park has a new member. Meet Tsunami Basant, the majestic giraffe. “The giraffe has come from Delhi and a lot of precautionary measures have been taken to get him safe and sound to the city,” says Mr. Shekhar, assistant curator of the zoo. Giraffes are very beautiful and fascinating animals. They are the natives of the wooded grasslands of Africa. The name Giraffe came from Arab word “Xirapha” means “one that can walk very fast”. This animal is the tallest of all land living species. The male giraffe is 16-18 feet tall while the female giraffe is 14 feet tall, comparatively shorter in height and also weighs less.
So what is his diet like? “He has plantains, onions, potatoes and green leaves,” says Mr. Shekhar.
Tsunami Basant is right now in the zoo in a special enclosure. There is just one other giraffe in the zoo at the moment. Plans are on to get more giraffes after a while.
How about dropping by to see the giraffe?
Interesting facts:
A giraffe can run between 25-35 miles per hour
Each step taken by a giraffe is 15 feet in length
A five to 30 minutes sleep a day is enough for a giraffe
Giraffes engage in neck wrestling matches to command authority in a herd
A young giraffe is called a calf
The age of the giraffe can be calculated by its spots; the darker the spot, the older is the giraffe
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