June 20, 2025 • 35 mins
Did you know the longest day of the year in the western hemisphere—June 21—is also World Giraffe Day? In this episode, hosts Rick and Marco visit giraffes on the savanna at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and speak with wildlife care specialist Natalie Sheridan to find out more about the world’s tallest land animal. Tune in to hear about adaptations that help giraffes thrive on the savannas of Africa, their unique behaviors, and the functions of their amazing spots.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Ruby.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hi, I'm Rick Schwartz.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
What is the world?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm MARKA what and this this is Amazing Wildlife where
we explore unique stories of wildlife from around the world
and uncover fascinating animal facts. Now, this podcast is brought
to you in partnership with iHeartRadio's Ruby Studio and San
Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, in international nonprofit conservation organization which
oversees the San Diego Zoo. And this beautiful place, or
might I say amazing place, the San Diego Zoo Safari.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Park is very amazing, sir. Why you're doing your monologu
which I always appreciate it rude us for that. You
rocked it, you killed it. Yeah, I saw a kestrel,
flussy cheek, iabase ravens, the crows.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Oh look there's an ecret going on. We got turkey
vultures for me.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
That, my friend, is the official symbol of the Safari Park,
which is.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Interesting because the Safari Park is more about, you know,
wildlife from around the world, AMG. And the turkey vultures
are local. But you're right, every morning when the sun
comes up, these local birds find that updraft. They love
to go up in the Yeah, even some back here.
I think you mentioned earlier.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I was just going to say that this is the
only spot in the Safari Park for guests at are
listening and watching. By the way, because we've got some
visuals going up check it out on YouTube in the future,
that this is the only spot I see turkey vultures
actually on the ground.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
There's a drinker back there.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
So I love it, right, wildlife all over. I know
I'm pushing the bird thing, but we gotta.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
I gotta let you do that.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Every EPISODK.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
I appreciate that I got it out of my assistant
because you got to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Mammal Right, the longest day, the longest.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Day is coming on. In fact, the day after this
episode comes out. It's the longest day in the Northern
Hemisphere as far as the amount of light in that day.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, which I was saying earlier, it's like my happiest
and saddest day.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I got to say the year.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Well, because you know, there's there's turns of daylight and
I love the sun, you know. Well, then I think about,
you know, the next day is going to be a
little bit less, you know, I know, I know it's
very dramatic.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'll get you a card for the twenty second.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Thanks that you know.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
But by the way, so it's the world's longest day,
but it's also associated with a day of celebration.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Mammal that might be right behind yeah, one behind me
right now in the background are will you look at that?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
And well, you know, I mean we should probably talk
to someone who works with these animals.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
We should probably acknowledge we have the wonderful Natalie here
who's giggling at us as Natalie.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Thank you for being.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Here, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I appreciate it. And I know we're going to talk
about your rapid earlier. I'm going to get it out
there because I was telling you all the wildlife around here.
There's a hawk here called the zone tail hawk that
does aggressive in the cry. I know I'm talking about it.
Hold on, everyone with the draft. It does aggressive mimicry.
So it flies with turkey vultures to look like a
turkey vulture. But you have to look for a white
band on the tail. It's like the unicorn out here
(02:36):
the Safari Park. So friend, when you see it, you let.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Me know it sounds good.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Don't give you a call.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Okay, so those in our watching the video, she just
told me, did you guys get.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
The eye roll? I think got the ie roll?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
MANA, all right, that was a pretty differend though, you
mean to the point your office.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
It's pretty cool. I gotta say, can you reference where
are we exactly? At the Safari Park? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (02:58):
Absolutely, So we're in our East Africa savan a habitat,
and we have over ten different species in here of
varying ungulates.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
It's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I'm going to say, there you go.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Sorry, is a type of host stock.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Okay, so some.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Of your co workers tallest ones are behind.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Them, my tallest coworkers out here. So we have six
giraffe out here. We have one male and five females.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Yeah wow, okay, yeah, they have varying ages.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Our youngest is about to be three and our oldest
is approaching ten and eleven.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And you know this area is a very popular spot,
especially the African Tram which is included in tickets.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
And also there's one in a Spaniola and Spaniel African family.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
I wanted to say as well, but this area is
East Savannah habitat.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
R Yeah, East Africa Savannah. Yeah, absolutely plant.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
It's so cool the things that you do at here,
So giraffe World's Longest day really unique. I like the
different kind of animals out there. I think of like
a platypus or a cassowary giraffe TOI right, I mean,
what is up with a giraffe?
Speaker 1 (03:53):
What's going on with that?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
You would never believe it.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
I mean if someone told me that unicorns were real,
I'd be like, okay, cool, And then you say, oh,
there's an animal with a twelve to thirteen footneck, and
be like what in the world.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
On the drive down here, I was listening to the
episode of Charlie Hyde who killed It by the way,
and I sort of think other things, you know, because
I know everyone knows I'm a bird guy, but giraffe
get me really excited. There's a kid aspect that I love,
and I was trying to pinpoint what is it about
him for me? You know what it was?
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I love dinosaurs as a kid, and one of my
favorites was.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
The brownish saurus. So it's one with a super long neck.
As a kid, I'm like, I wish we had animals
like that. But then I instantly looked at the giraffe.
I know it's an obvious thing for most people, but
maybe for a kid they don't know.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Like, describe a giraffe in case there's someone out.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
There in the world doesn't even know what a giraffe is,
can you speak to that.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Sure.
Speaker 5 (04:37):
It's the tallest land mammal that you could ever imagine,
and essentially their legs are about as tall as I
am straight off the ground.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
I'm not the tallest person.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
World, but I think or something like that for a male.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
So tall, yes, absolutely so.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
The babies are usually born like straight out of the womb,
six feet tall.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Wo.
Speaker 5 (04:53):
Yeah, a baby a baby, yeah, and then they just
grow continuously from there.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
The males usually average about eighteen feet.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Some of our females out here can range from fourteen
to sixteen as well.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
Kind of depends on how old they are.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
They grow for a long time and they're just covered
in spots, and they're big spots, and they have different
kind of coloring in between their spots, and the spots
are all unique to them.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
So they're literally a fingerprint to a giraffe.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Oh that's cool.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
That's a probably good way for you to identify and individually. Yeah,
but I love that, right, kids think about how unique
their thumb print is.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
So giraffes have the kind of the.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Same Yeah, No, giraffe has the exact same spots.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Right. So second question I got.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
So you're talking about like the long neck, the different pattern,
but where in the world do you find these guys,
Like why do they have all these things to survive?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (05:33):
Absolutely, So they are in a very hot area of Africa,
and there's four different types and they're kind of all
over Africa. Okay, so we have ones that are in
Northern Africa, southern Eastern, I'm not totally sure about Western,
but they're all kind of around the same area. None
of them are actually intermingling right now, so they're keeping
separate species, which is really great for their future and conservation.
And Africa is hot, it is dry, everything is super
(05:56):
tall when it comes to trees and other types of
things that they like to eat, so they have the
long neck to be able to access all the food
that they usually get up tall.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Oh that's a good point, and then you think of
it that way too.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I mean, I'm looking at some grass right now, but
maybe it wouldn't be best for this kind of animal.
I think like a browser right right, So we're picking
leaves off of the trees right then.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
But they're doing that like all day, right time job.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
And they're so tall, they have unique adaptations to like
manage their blood pressure when they do have to bend
down to drink water, So they're very unique. You can't
just fold your legs down and they have to like
spread their legs out and dip their head down. Because
they're so tall, it takes so much work to get
the blood rushing up to their head and all the
way back down, So they're very unique. They have super
tight skin around their legs that allows them to be
(06:40):
able to bend down drink water and not get a
head rush when they stand back up.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
And that's important, the tight skin because it keeps a
pressure on the vessels of names.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Yeah, it doesn't let all the blood rush to the
head when they get down.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
It's funny, you know. I know for myself as a kid,
and I always admire drafts because they are so unique.
You think about all the other hoped animals that we
have around. For the most part, there's shapes and sizes,
although they vary, it's kind of a standard generalized thing
when you look at the giraffe. It's like, wait a minute,
they got stretched out. Never really thought of the fact that, yeah,
when I bend over sometimes you can get a little
(07:12):
bit of a head rush, or if you get up
too quickly, you get a little bit of a Disney spell.
You think about someone who's pushing fourteen eighteen feet in
height and they're bending down to drink the water. The physiology,
the way the body is built to help them manage
all that, it's truly fascinating.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
Yeah, it's actually inspired NASA to work with that idea
of how to control blood pressure, to work with some
of their spacesuits.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
That's pretty clear.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Giraffes and that.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Well, it's a biommicry science, right, That's what that is
is if we look at things in the wild and go,
wait a minute, how do we possibly leverage that in
a man made way.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Like the design of a raptor, like a falcon.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And so to your point there, if we can go
to the bird thing, anybody traveling to San Diego to
come to the zoos fire pork on your airplane that
probably have a little winglet on the air Yeah, twenty
years ago airplanes didn't have those, but when they started
studying the long primary feathers of eagles and hawks, they
realize that allows for better aerodynamic use of the wing
and it's more fuel fish for airplanes. I love that,
miss So see giraffe and hawks doing that thing.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
I'm learning new things.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
I love it, you know. But to me, like you know,
I love the word diversity too.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
And as we're talking all these really cool adaptations for
a large mammal in Africa that needs to eat a lot,
but it's a.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Dry area, so I'm munch in every single day.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
But I'm also seeing I'm going to talk about a
bird again, but it's a local bird of black crested
phoebe who look at the world very differently, like they
catch insects in the air, So for them, it's going
at a faster speed. But I love that as we're
sitting here, we have different types of visuals or realms
that are happening in wildlife and interacting with it sothern
in a different way in here. There's really unique interactions
that happen too with giraffe, right, I mean, because they're
(08:49):
so tall in Africa, right, I mean, other animals are
checking them out for particular reason.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Can you speak to that.
Speaker 5 (08:54):
We call them the watch tower of the savannah. So
a group of giraffe is called a tower, and they're
just taller than everyone else. So they're cause stantly looking
around and seeing what's going on. So a lot of
animals read off of their behavior. If they start to
spook a predator, obviously anything smaller and littler must also
run away from said predator. Yeah, so that helps a
lot with them just being able to see over literally everything.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah, right, I mean, but I know, we know that
they can move pretty good too, right.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Oh, they can move.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
Yes, the long legs, you'd be like, okay, great, you
kind of just saunter around. They can get some high speeds.
They look very graceful when they run with really long legs,
galloping all over wid It's crazy to see. Yeah, they
can run so so gracefully over all these hills and
different sorts of terrain. So we're always really impressed at
how much they can move around this habitat.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yeah, no kidding, because the hoof is very unique. So
there's opposed to like a horse, it's like a two
toe as opposed to the right. Yeah, I mean, they're
navigating sand and rocks and grass and all sorts of
things after Oh, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Speaking of the hoofs too, and the long legs obviously
a lot of muscle mass to make that body move.
A lot of times people are surprised to hear that
giraffe can be very dangerous. Oh yeah, in the sense
of how do they defend themselves? Maybe if a lion
or two.
Speaker 5 (10:04):
So they're known for the long legs, being able to
kick and swing, so if there is a predator around,
they could easily lift a leg, swing a leg, things
like that at something that's down on the ground. Lions
are their main predators, so they're trying to kick and
keep away lions from their babies, from themselves things like that.
And then even between each other, like if males are
fighting for females or things like that, they swing the
(10:25):
entire neck and head towards each other and it is dramatic.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
It's wild. Get Rick's point to I think people forget.
Can you see the beautiful brown eyes, right, they seem
to be very just. But I like to rely on people. Man,
I do not want to cross the giraffe. Right, Like
you said, the kick in the giraffe can break the
jaw a lion, right, and we were talking before filming.
There's pointing things on top of the skull. Can you
talk about those really?
Speaker 5 (10:48):
What is jessicone is actually a part of the skull,
so unlike an antler that sheds and things like that,
it's a part of their skull.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
And they use it.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
In the idea of defending themselves when they're throwing their necks.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And things like, they're not shetting it.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
It stays, it stays there.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Do males and females both have it?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
They both have both have it.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Yeah, the males, right, we had we.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Had a male here. Sometimes they have extra calcium bumps, yes,
the thick in that school. So when they neck or
swing their heads at each other.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
For ye petition females, it's kind of like a very graceful,
smooth oscone. They're littler, they're still very much so there.
But our males they kind of like have a big
bumpier look all along the top of their head and
their oscacnes, and it's adding to the volume of being
able to swing at each other and be the more
assertive male.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Am I mistaken? There's also like thicker skin in the
tor so.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
I think yeah, because if you think about lowering ahead
and swinging out another individual, that's where they're aiming.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Can you describe it a little more like step by
step so the kids can visualize what's going on surround
this are getty. Oh, I see a female giraffe out there. Oh,
maybe she is, you know, looking for some action. Maybe
I don't know this one, so I want to know, like,
is it a male giraffe with a big territory or
everyone's just cruising around and opportunistically the more dominant one.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
How does that?
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Yeah, as far as I know, it's more of like
a male has a group situation and there's a more
dominant male. You can have younger males, but males tend
to go off on their own once they reach sexual maturity.
So you have a male who's kind of like, these
are my ladies, these are my girls, So he needs
to keep other males off of those if he wants
to be able to continue his genetic.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Right, it's a friend.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I just now I see that one other male. Oh,
he's looking at his ladies. He's coming over, So what's
going to happen?
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (12:24):
Absolutely, It's called posturing when males kind of go up
and they're like, all right.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
The beach or something.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Guys posturing, But.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Everyone postures, and that's something I talk to kids about.
You know. The animals communicate in so many different ways.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
It's not just a scent marking, you know, or a sound.
It's visual too. So okay, I got ahead of myself.
So they're posturing right now.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
They're posturing, and it's kind of like the decision of
who's going to make the first move, and you can
have the other male back off and be like, just kidding,
I'm not going to risk anything.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
My bad.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Yeah, I'm gonna look okay, but this is the scenario.
They're the same height.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Right, so now the costering didn't work.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
It's kind of like they don't really up to each other.
It's more of like a saunter. They saunter up to
each other, and then all of a sudden, you just
see one of them essentially roll their neck down this
very long, multiple foot long neck and just slam into
the other one and you can hear it, you can
hear the noise, and then it's just constantly necking each other.
(13:19):
One tires out, one ends up a little bit injured,
like anything like that.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Someone hard someone.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Yeah, someone decides to give up, and it can be quick,
it can be forever.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
It's definitely up to those males.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
So theoretically, if it's like the new guy in town,
any of the eagle song just went on the new
kid in town anyway. Anyway, the new guy that came
into prison to try to push off the male, the
existing male, he won.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
So now if the older male, the original male, takes.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Off licks his wounds, he's yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
But it points out to genetic diversity.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Right, So this guy had certain physical characteristics, stronger, maybe
he was eating better.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Yeah, there's so many different things that could.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Cory, right, and now he gets a mate with the
female pretty much.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yeah, right, going back to the necking and fighting of
them males too. I want people to know I did
not work with giraffe at all my career, but I
started getting closer and closer to them as an ambassador
and working with all of our different teams out here,
And the first time I had a giraffe actually come
and have its head very close to me, I was
(14:17):
a bit taken aback at how huge and massive the
skull of these animals. And so when we talk about
them at the end of a six foot long neck,
this ginormous head slapping against the body of another one.
Even at a distance, it may not look like much,
but if you really think about the weight that is
behind that and then the swinging and the velocity that
is a solid, hard hit. I'm not just like us
(14:40):
bunking heads jokingly, or even like goats hitting heads. This
is a lot more going on there with force and
the power of it all. So it seems almost like, oh,
they're just like knocking around a little bit, no big deal,
But this could actually cause serious injury.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Some tend to do it.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
Our females will once in a while do it when
they're like, hand, get off my food.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
Can't use no.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
As aggressively for lack of better words. But when two
males they have one thing in mind and one of
them is.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Going to win in one of them, my brain starts
thinking about like back to the communication thing, right that
overall most animals, most you know, we'll try to avoid
a physical interaction because to that male that just got
his butt beat by the other male exactly, you know,
you have to color it up a little bit. But
you know, what if you cut and what if now
it's infected, and now maybe he doesn't survive.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
So there's all these other aspects that they have to
worry about.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So it's not the first thing they do, but the
postering and know the things that they'll try.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Yeah, most animals are going to always try and take
the least effective route. They don't want to be hurt
because if you're hurt in the wild, there aren't like
us where we see an animal and we're like, okay,
we now have to deal with it.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
We have to treat it right. We're going to make
sure you're okay out in the wild. There isn't that.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Yeah, And actually it's speaking to that because I wanted
to ask, you know, what's it like working on an
animal that can give you a pretty gnarly kick. But
you know we were talking earlier that you're building up
trust and you're doing training process.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah, I wanted to ask how smart you know people
always ask we who's as smart as a dog or
house smartest? Oh yeah, there's mark, Yeah, training you guys.
So there's some intelligence there, right.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
There is some intelligence.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Sometimes you look at them and you're like, are you
looking at anything? They're sing things, it's windy and they run.
You're like, what do you what do you do? But no,
most of these animals were around twenty four to seven.
We're here when they wake up, we're here when we
go to bed. We're seeing birds, we're seeing deaths, we're
seeing all the things. So we're here for their whole lives.
So we're building these relationships with these animals and that's
(16:25):
allowed us to build up situations where they don't have
a fear of us.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
But it's a respect between everyone for sure.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
As you're saying that there's one approaching us close, but
it does speak to what you're talking about. You're building
up this relationship and not in a domestic dog kind
of way or a domestic kind of way. We're establishing communication.
It's and fancy operating conditioning techniques.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
It can be positive negative punishment, which you don't really
do too much of it here, and more of the
positive reinforcement. There's also a negative reinforcement, but these are
all tools that we can utilize, but with positive reinforcement.
I'm a big behavior nerd, but I love that you
have an area behind this here that you focus a
little bit of your training.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
That you do with these animals.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
Yeah, We tend to train in specific areas, mainly because,
as I mentioned before, there's multiple different species in here,
and rhinos are like, I want to train two, so
we don't want all of everyone involved at the same time,
so we'll train them generally at more specific times during
the day. So like rhinos know, they get trained in
the morning and draft get trained in the afternoon. So
it's kind of being able to regulate a multi species exhibit.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I'm just going to say a lot that schedule because
some people don't think about that. You know, maybe the
different habitats. You have one species, maybe two habitat that
you're facilitating, you're managing, But here you have what you said,
over ten different species. They have to navigate absolutely, so
that makes a lot of sense. Yeah, what are someone like,
give me your top two or top three behaviors that
you focus on with this kind of animal.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
What do you got to do?
Speaker 5 (17:45):
So we want all of our animals to recognize their names.
All of our animals have names, and so name recognition
is a big one, especially if you're trying to draw
someone over to, for example, look at their hoofs or
other things like that.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Sorry, okay, name recognition who's the one messing with the
manda right.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Now, Kanie checking it out.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
You know.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
But again this speaks to the relationship that you guess,
this is not something that happened with a giraffe.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
No, it's a level of trust, like we respect of
their wild animals. They're huge, like they're saying, like, they
have adaptations to protect themselves, and we know their limits,
they know our limits, and it's very much just like
a give and take relationship, right yeah, And so they
allow us essentially to interact with them all the time.
We've worked with a lot of Name recognition for these
guys was number one, Like if you're gonna have a
(18:32):
little baby.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Giraffe, it should know its name, right.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
So then we also want to you know, as I
was talking about, they have hoofs, they have the two toes,
and you want to maintain those in the wild. They're
walking so often all the time over different types of terrain,
and we try to keep that as variable as possible
out here, but we're still going to have to maintain it.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
It wants to.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Check out the camera.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Apparently she's a fan of Sony, But you know, as
you're speaking, I'm looking at the hoofs, and you're absolutely right. Now,
I'm trying to think, like, would I want to like
kneel down and like get down there and work on
a hoof?
Speaker 1 (19:03):
What's that like?
Speaker 5 (19:04):
Don't So we have to work with them for the
fact that their comfort level is what we base everything
off of. So we always have some sort of form
of protection. I'm not just jumping off the truck here
at all. It's our safety and their safety all along.
They are a mega vertebrate, So we have this area
back here, and we do set up other different pieces
of woods that we are protected at all times. Right,
And it's very much still reading the animal. You're never
(19:24):
doing anything alone. If someone says she looks uncomfortable, we're
all backing up and we're resetting.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
Things like that.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
That's awesome.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
Yeah, it's all on the animal's idea of what they
want to do that day.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Wow, I'm even something as simple like right now Yamakanie
was her name, as simple as her even like she's
turning right now, turning, you would have to be aware
because it's such a big animal.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
I don't think she'd know that she'd knock you over right.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Oh No, So you're really just having a navigate this
really unique.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Space with them.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Yeah, and you mentioned their big eyes.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
And if you see, like those big eyes, see a
lot in front of them and to the side of them,
but they can't see behind them, so they have like
a certain amount of visions, so they're swinging their head
to see what.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Is a over here for example.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
You're up, so I've been right now. Anybody listening When
these videos finally do go on to YouTube, we have
to watch this episode. Yama Connie is right here in
front of us now.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
And you guys a part of We're gonna hint at
it right your social media handle on Instagram, zoology right.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
As well. Yeah, this is a uniqueness, right, This is
the joy.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Of our podcast is we get to actually be mobile,
We get to come out into these spaces. Can't thank
you enough for just I you know, we nort really
think at the end of but I want to thank
you now because that's a unique experience for us. Yama
Connie be right here and we just kind of check
us out and move on. Unique experience for our audience
who gets to watch this later as well. So you
guys were talking about all we're talking about the eye.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Oh yeah, so they get the long old eyes.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Yeah, so like being the watch hower of the span,
and they have great ability to see far and wide,
not just being over everything, but they just have this
awareness with them. So because of that, they can't see
behind them. So they always kind of.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Rely on being in this tower situation.
Speaker 5 (20:55):
So for example, when they have babies, they need to
go out, they need to get all of the forage
and things like that.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
They still need to.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Maintain their abilities, so they have different moms watch over kids.
We call them aunties really, so they have this exactly,
so it's like take care essentially.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
I love.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
I didn't know they did that.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
The little babies can't keep up with mom all the time,
so they'll have one or two moms kind of watch
everybody while the others go out and find all the
food things like that, and then they'll switch off.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
So that's really cool. We've seen it in here.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Actually it's beneficial, right, I mean, you guys are out
there so many predators out there when you have babies.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
You know, it's interesting. I remember when we did our
market episode the beginning of this season. Well, the use
social stuff, but I was thinking about the pups will
stay in the den while mom goes food, and the
aunties will hang out and take care of the kids
while she goes to It's kind of the same idea,
absolutely differently in the sense that they're not in a burrow,
but it's that whole concept of community and the group's
taking care of each other and taking care of the young,
(21:50):
even if it's not there young. Because there's that community,
that safety in numbers the well being for everybody.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
That's right, cool. I know, I love that.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I mean I love having like the right that's really
that lot side question a budget, swim them up, excuse
me for that.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
That's some of the nuances that happens in the wild everyone.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
But earlier you a Connie came over and she was
licking a little bit of the truck. But I wanted
to ask you about the spit the mucus saliva.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
It's a unique trait about it. Can you speak a
little bit about that for me?
Speaker 5 (22:17):
So something that they eat in the wild is generally
thorny acasha, So it's a type of tree and they
use that very long tongue that manipulates different things to
pull off the leaves and things like that. So the
saliva keeps everything kind of liquid, so they're not exactly
poking and hurting themselves when eating thorns.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Oh that's really cool.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
And the tongue too. It's block for a specific reason too, right.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
I couldn't tell you what that reason is actually.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Know I was. I was trying to lead you everything.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
But I heard from the last episode with Charlie Hide
its black for like some block it was really two
years ago.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Yeah, I was twenty twenty three.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Man, I had bad time reference, you know, it was
just yesterday.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
But again, like they're eating during daytime hours, right, which
leads me to the question they're generally not forging a
lot of nighttime hours or they are.
Speaker 5 (22:57):
You thinking Knight's just a bit dangerous out ya? Absolutely,
and they do. People are like, do they lay down?
Speaker 4 (23:03):
And they do. It takes a lot of effort for
them to get down there.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Yeah, but they are able to kind of fold their
legs underneath them and just lay there. And they look
really tall with just their neck kind of coming out
of the ground. But they are able to lay down.
But it's more of a situation where someone's always up
and watching.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Yeah, you're kidding, and I was reading it.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
They don't do like I'm more of a ten hour
sleep or sometimes they wouldn't be doing.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
That, right, you can't do that out there.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
It's almost like I call it like the President's sleep.
You know, I read somewhere like he'll sleep at twenty minutes,
a little mass naps. But do they do like quick
little nappies.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
Or they do yeah, short amounts, especially the older they get.
For example, babies need a ton of sleep. They're exhausted
for running around being crazy all the time. They're growing
exactly minor details they have to get big. So usually
it's twenty minutes to the time, one to two hours,
never a long amount of time.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
On the ground.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Yeah, Actually thinking about babies, I don't know if you
can speak to this, but like i'd read where giving birth,
you know, it is a six foot tall baby, but
it's a big drop.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Mask baby right into the world, right.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
But it kind of makes you know those movies like
you know, when they're giving birth, and I don't know
if they do this were in reality, but you know,
the doctor slaps the babies, the human baby, but the
baby there's I had read somewhere like is it kind
of a giraffe version of that? You know that the
drop actually helps stimulate the baby. Woke it up because
they got to get up really really fast.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Yeah, in the wild with predators, they need to get
up as quickly as possible.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
I've read somewhere it's like within thirty to forty minutes. Yeah, yes,
and starting to follow mom.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Can you imagine that like drag your dad? Can you
imagine your kid that's over run?
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Wow? So wild they're wobbly on their legs.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah, we were talking.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
We've had baby giraffes here at the Safari parking in
the San Diego Zoo too, right, part of that managed
care for these species, I mean, unfortunately, you know, they're
not doing so good out there in the wild for
the habitat fragmentation, A big one is actually wildlife trafficking,
you know, drive down here. Was trying to think, how
do we tell kids. I don't know what you think
or you think, Rick, but what do we tell kids?
How can they help a giraffe out? Basically, like my
(24:59):
main one is just go support your local zoo and
aquarium that's accredited and they're doing good work out there
helping out manage populations, genetic diversity, right.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Certainly well and then to your point. As the Santegazoo
Wildlife Alliance. As an alliance, we have allies all over
the world and we have several groups we work with
in Kenya that also then do work around Africa for
the giraffe population. So that's the beauty of supporting your
local zoo is like when you support the Wildlife Alliance,
you're supporting that bigger picture of the conservation work that
we do. And that's what I always enjoy about hearing
(25:29):
people falling in love with giraffe here at the Sane Fipark.
Is that then that it's like, what can I do
to help can and well, you know, just be in
here helps, but you can do more. There's a lot
of things you can go online and help out with.
We used to and I'm not sure if it still exists,
but we used to have a twigger group we were
part of where there's the camera trap footage where you
can go through and actually identify the different giraffe and
the shots and all that sort of thing. You go
(25:49):
online and do it as a volunteer. So there's a
lot of ways progress exactly. There's a lot of way
people can get involved, and I think it's a wonderful thing.
You know.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Another one for me, you guys, is actually traveling honestly,
you know, because I know that's an issue for girafts,
you know, parts of their body for different reasons.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Maybe they think it's a religious ceremonial purpose.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
But what I tell people, like when you travel, so
you're going down to Africa, like maybe don't buy that
weird thing that looks like or.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Possibly even a seed or a feather of a bird.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
You don't know what's happening to that wildlife when they're
trying to procure those items. So I just tell people
when they travel, just you know, put your money to
good purposes and taking good.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Seriously.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Yeah, and as you're talking, look it behind us right
now visually they can't.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Are you getting in it?
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Like I got a wildlife Safari vehicle if you're not familiar.
For those listening, this is my favorite tour or experience
we have at the Safari Park.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
It's almost like doing your job and not really doing
your job. Get used dirty. Just give me the look again.
I don't want to get the side.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
But literally they can go on the back of a
Safari truck and they can go into these large habitats.
This is the one makes a Safari Park. No, no
shade to the zoo. I love you the zoo, but
the Safari Park is saying a situation that you can
actually go into the habitat of these animals, multi species
over ten that you said, and our guests can experiences.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Hi. Guess, Hi, good to see it.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
We're just doing a recording of a podcast, you know.
That's a yeah, we're literally recording right now. Good to
see But rates in fact that you guess I've known
here since I was a teenager here, and that's the
other thing.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
I know.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
We're talking heavy on the giraffes and conservation, but tell me, like,
for you, being a human here working here, what is
it about this place that makes it so special for you?
Speaker 1 (27:22):
I know I can speak forever.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
I mean, for me, it was a lifelong goal to
end up at the zoo or the Safari Park.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
How was it to come here? Yes? How did that happen?
Like you're a kid, Like I was a little.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
Kid and I was at the zoo and I was like,
this is where I want to be and I ended
up at the Safari Park and it's like stepping into Africa.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Every single day. Really, it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Everyone has a different origin story because kids are always
asking me how to become a wildlife here specialist. Can
you share a little about your story, Like was it college?
Was it just firsthand experience?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
What was it?
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (27:49):
I was kind of both, So I do have multiple
degrees and environmental science and wildlife conservation biology, but it's
also having the experience.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
As Dan mcconnie's alteration.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Camera, Bet, who's going to get that? You're right though?
That is like, is the word viscus? It's thick, I mean.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
Robbery.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
My parents had a bloodhound before. That is definitely thicker
and then blood. I gotta say, but you're right though.
Oh sorry, can you say your degrees one more time?
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Because kids are always wondering.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
Absolutely wildlife conservation biology and environmental science, and I know
multiple people here have psychology, zoology, really anything that kind
of gives you an idea of how animals work.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
And for me, it was a lot of experience as well.
Speaker 5 (28:39):
I did a lot of wildlife rehab work, large carnivore sanctuaries,
all the big Like.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
For me, it's three things, you guys, it's academic, right,
it's experience, but it's also networking.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
People can get the networking thing.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
And I'm not dissuading going to college suit, but I
also want to point out for other kids and maybe
college isn't the right path for them.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Like I grew up here, I learned everything.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Like Charlie hyde per degree was graphic design.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
She works with giraffes. So the kids, the adults listening.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Every path is different, you know, but it does help
you out if you can stack the deck because this
is a it's a pretty popular place to work, right
you know it is.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Yeah, And it's really about the people. I think that
makes this place so unique. How's your team? Is it you?
And one of the person is it you? And like
ten twenty what's your day staff? What's that like?
Speaker 5 (29:22):
Usually we have about eight to ten people here for
this run. Specifically, we cover a few different areas.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
I mean like this describes the area.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Yes, so we have a few different areas that this
team itself covers, okay, and then there's multiple teams throughout
the park.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
It's a big space bots of animals.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Like for instance, right now we're in East Africa, but
in South Africa area we have massige giraffe, right so
is it like giraffe specialists or do you separate, like
what's your area?
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Do you do both areas?
Speaker 4 (29:47):
It generally is separate just by the area.
Speaker 5 (29:49):
So we have a different team that covers the Masside
giraffe right now, and sometimes we can have some crossover
and things like that, but right now I'm and my
team are all in this East Africa habitat and the
two other habitats we cover as well.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Oh yeah, every morning is a little different. Give me
your first hour in the day. What are you doing?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
So we all meet in the morning to touch base
on all of the animals.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Early, right, like you're waking What is it six o'clock starting.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
We clock in at six?
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Yeah, six o'clock. Everyone just pointed out.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
Which right now it's light out at six, but in
the winter it is not.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Yeah, yeah, right, that speaks to that.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
And it's not an office, right, So if it's like
maybe thirty eight degrees, because you can't get cold out
here in the sample squad valley where we're at, you know, yeah,
you're bumbling up. I'm go I know this guy you
know from the up.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Northernland door down here for twenty plus years.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
I'm chilly right now. You guys, it's like seventy five below.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
I'm cold, but to that your rain, shine, frost, It
don't matter. You're out here six o'clock. You get together
with your team, you said.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
We get together with a team. We touch base.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
We all kind of go on different areas during the day,
and some days you'll be in this area with our
draft and the other ten species in here. We take
care of another area that focuses on asiatic species. Oh yeah,
that's adjacent to this area, right, Yeah, so there's people
doing that run as well.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
We eventually have to clean up all the poop these
animals make.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Oh that is I'm looking right now and maybe maybe
I see a little bit here and there, but being
so cast instead coming across. What's that like? I mean,
is that an everyday thing or.
Speaker 5 (31:14):
Generally as much as we can, Yeah, I mean they
all kind of go a couple of times a day,
so it's hard to maintaine, you know, it's really do Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Actually, you're right, it is, hey, right, But I like
the dynamics of poop too. You learn a lot from it.
You know why they're doing it, why they're doing at
the consistency, and I know just from experience. But the
giraffe droppings are different than like the larger ones here
that you're seeing, right, can you describe what a giraft dropping.
Speaker 5 (31:35):
Yeah, giraft poop is generally appellated, so it's about I
don't like comparing it to candy, but most people do
a little.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Bit a whopper. Kids do not put giraffe in your mouth.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Similar shape, but I would imagine and correct me if
I'm wrong, But I would imagine because it's such a
dry area and ecosystem, they are trying to get as
much moisture as it can out of.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Their food, right, So that's why it's so small and other.
Speaker 5 (32:00):
Small impelletted and we can tell a lot from their
health based on what they do, excrete for any of
our species out here. So we tend to keep a
very close eye on it, whether it's as they're going
or cleaning up things like that, Like it's an important
part of what of animal Careah.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
I would get to use the lot as I would
break up poop and look at it because I'm also
curious what's going on.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Yeah, we can learn a lot from that, you know, true? Yeah? Wow?
Speaker 2 (32:20):
All right, So bringing it back to draft, we wrap up.
We do need to going soon, Okay, I want to
bring back to drafts. Last question for you, what is
your favorite adaptation or fact about the giraffe or the
one thing that you're like, oh, that's just so cool,
oh god, And if you have multiple, they just pick one,
pick one.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
That's so challenging.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
I mean for me, it's interesting because their spots help
with keeping them cool in the hot sun. So for example,
they have thicker blood vessels that go around their spots,
which we talked about earlier.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Their spots are.
Speaker 5 (32:48):
All unique to them because we have Thompson Gizalz running
around behind us, and they have the thicker blood vessels
around the outside of the spot, and then the inside
of the spot has kind of like veiny thinner ones,
and they're able to control how much blood goes around
to the spots to be able to cool off.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
It's a darker color, right, yeah, it absorbs a sun
warm up or vice versa. It's really hot, you want
more blood flow in the lighter parts of the press.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I actually did not know that exactly.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
Awesome, Yeah, I can see you there.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
Well, then, on that note, thank you so very much
for your time for allowing us to come sit in
your office and hang out with your co workers. Really
appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Thank you, Yeah, I appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (33:27):
Think thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
I learned a lot, right, that was really cool?
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Well I will say not only learned a lot, but
learn something new. Oh ye, perfect way to end that.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
That's what I love this job of ours, right, and
then we're always students for life. It was a tell people,
I never trust someone that says you know everything, something
like never worlds along a stage draft and now guess
can know? Come visit us with the Safari party, right
or the zoo help out and draft conservation. Even just
getting excited and learning about your.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Rafts I think will help out.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Right. And if you're listening to this episode after June
twenty first, yeah, well mark your calendar for next year,
you'll know to celebrate World Draft Day.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Ohtally, Yeah, that's awesome. And what are we going to
do next time?
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Well, about three episodes in a row here at the
parkast time, go to the zoo market.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
I don't want no angry letters everyone.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I like the zoo. I love the zoo. But why
are we going to the zoo?
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Then? Well, the next episode after this comes out in
early July, which we were getting very close to the
anniversary when the pandas came back to the zoo, so
I thought, maybe it's time to go check in and
see how they're doing it for the first year.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
All right, get some bunch of nuts and with some pandas,
there you go. Excellent, excellent, Well with that, Marco Witt.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
And I'm Rick Schwartz. Thanks for watching and listening. We're
listening and watching whichever as you do.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
For more information about the San Diego Zoo and San
Diego Zoo Safari Park, go to s d z w
a dot org. Amazing Wildlife is a production of iHeartRadio.
Our supervising producers are Nikia Swinton and Dylan Fagan, and
our sound designers are Sierra Spreen and Matt Russell. For
more shows from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
(35:02):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Ruby.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hi, I'm Rick Schwartz.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
What is the world?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm MARKA what and this this is Amazing Wildlife where
we explore unique stories of wildlife from around the world
and uncover fascinating animal facts. Now, this podcast is brought
to you in partnership with iHeartRadio's Ruby Studio and San
Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, in international nonprofit conservation organization which
oversees the San Diego Zoo. And this beautiful place, or
might I say amazing place, the San Diego Zoo Safari.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Park is very amazing, sir. Why you're doing your monologu
which I always appreciate it rude us for that. You
rocked it, you killed it. Yeah, I saw a kestrel,
flussy cheek, iabase ravens, the crows.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Oh look there's an ecret going on. We got turkey
vultures for me.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
That, my friend, is the official symbol of the Safari Park,
which is.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Interesting because the Safari Park is more about, you know,
wildlife from around the world, AMG. And the turkey vultures
are local. But you're right, every morning when the sun
comes up, these local birds find that updraft. They love
to go up in the Yeah, even some back here.
I think you mentioned earlier.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I was just going to say that this is the
only spot in the Safari Park for guests at are
listening and watching. By the way, because we've got some
visuals going up check it out on YouTube in the future,
that this is the only spot I see turkey vultures
actually on the ground.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
There's a drinker back there.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
So I love it, right, wildlife all over. I know
I'm pushing the bird thing, but we gotta.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
I gotta let you do that.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Every EPISODK.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
I appreciate that I got it out of my assistant
because you got to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Mammal Right, the longest day, the longest.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Day is coming on. In fact, the day after this
episode comes out. It's the longest day in the Northern
Hemisphere as far as the amount of light in that day.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, which I was saying earlier, it's like my happiest
and saddest day.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I got to say the year.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Well, because you know, there's there's turns of daylight and
I love the sun, you know. Well, then I think about,
you know, the next day is going to be a
little bit less, you know, I know, I know it's
very dramatic.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'll get you a card for the twenty second.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Thanks that you know.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
But by the way, so it's the world's longest day,
but it's also associated with a day of celebration.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Mammal that might be right behind yeah, one behind me
right now in the background are will you look at that?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
And well, you know, I mean we should probably talk
to someone who works with these animals.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
We should probably acknowledge we have the wonderful Natalie here
who's giggling at us as Natalie.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Thank you for being.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Here, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I appreciate it. And I know we're going to talk
about your rapid earlier. I'm going to get it out
there because I was telling you all the wildlife around here.
There's a hawk here called the zone tail hawk that
does aggressive in the cry. I know I'm talking about it.
Hold on, everyone with the draft. It does aggressive mimicry.
So it flies with turkey vultures to look like a
turkey vulture. But you have to look for a white
band on the tail. It's like the unicorn out here
(02:36):
the Safari Park. So friend, when you see it, you let.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Me know it sounds good.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Don't give you a call.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Okay, so those in our watching the video, she just
told me, did you guys get.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
The eye roll? I think got the ie roll?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
MANA, all right, that was a pretty differend though, you
mean to the point your office.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
It's pretty cool. I gotta say, can you reference where
are we exactly? At the Safari Park? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (02:58):
Absolutely, So we're in our East Africa savan a habitat,
and we have over ten different species in here of
varying ungulates.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
It's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I'm going to say, there you go.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Sorry, is a type of host stock.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Okay, so some.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Of your co workers tallest ones are behind.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Them, my tallest coworkers out here. So we have six
giraffe out here. We have one male and five females.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Yeah wow, okay, yeah, they have varying ages.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
Our youngest is about to be three and our oldest
is approaching ten and eleven.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
And you know this area is a very popular spot,
especially the African Tram which is included in tickets.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
And also there's one in a Spaniola and Spaniel African family.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
I wanted to say as well, but this area is
East Savannah habitat.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
R Yeah, East Africa Savannah. Yeah, absolutely plant.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
It's so cool the things that you do at here,
So giraffe World's Longest day really unique. I like the
different kind of animals out there. I think of like
a platypus or a cassowary giraffe TOI right, I mean,
what is up with a giraffe?
Speaker 1 (03:53):
What's going on with that?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
You would never believe it.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
I mean if someone told me that unicorns were real,
I'd be like, okay, cool, And then you say, oh,
there's an animal with a twelve to thirteen footneck, and
be like what in the world.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
On the drive down here, I was listening to the
episode of Charlie Hyde who killed It by the way,
and I sort of think other things, you know, because
I know everyone knows I'm a bird guy, but giraffe
get me really excited. There's a kid aspect that I love,
and I was trying to pinpoint what is it about
him for me? You know what it was?
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I love dinosaurs as a kid, and one of my
favorites was.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
The brownish saurus. So it's one with a super long neck.
As a kid, I'm like, I wish we had animals
like that. But then I instantly looked at the giraffe.
I know it's an obvious thing for most people, but
maybe for a kid they don't know.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Like, describe a giraffe in case there's someone out.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
There in the world doesn't even know what a giraffe is,
can you speak to that.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Sure.
Speaker 5 (04:37):
It's the tallest land mammal that you could ever imagine,
and essentially their legs are about as tall as I
am straight off the ground.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
I'm not the tallest person.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
World, but I think or something like that for a male.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
So tall, yes, absolutely so.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
The babies are usually born like straight out of the womb,
six feet tall.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Wo.
Speaker 5 (04:53):
Yeah, a baby a baby, yeah, and then they just
grow continuously from there.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
The males usually average about eighteen feet.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Some of our females out here can range from fourteen
to sixteen as well.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
Kind of depends on how old they are.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
They grow for a long time and they're just covered
in spots, and they're big spots, and they have different
kind of coloring in between their spots, and the spots
are all unique to them.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
So they're literally a fingerprint to a giraffe.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Oh that's cool.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
That's a probably good way for you to identify and individually. Yeah,
but I love that, right, kids think about how unique
their thumb print is.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
So giraffes have the kind of the.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
Same Yeah, No, giraffe has the exact same spots.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Right. So second question I got.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
So you're talking about like the long neck, the different pattern,
but where in the world do you find these guys,
Like why do they have all these things to survive?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (05:33):
Absolutely, So they are in a very hot area of Africa,
and there's four different types and they're kind of all
over Africa. Okay, so we have ones that are in
Northern Africa, southern Eastern, I'm not totally sure about Western,
but they're all kind of around the same area. None
of them are actually intermingling right now, so they're keeping
separate species, which is really great for their future and conservation.
And Africa is hot, it is dry, everything is super
(05:56):
tall when it comes to trees and other types of
things that they like to eat, so they have the
long neck to be able to access all the food
that they usually get up tall.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Oh that's a good point, and then you think of
it that way too.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I mean, I'm looking at some grass right now, but
maybe it wouldn't be best for this kind of animal.
I think like a browser right right, So we're picking
leaves off of the trees right then.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
But they're doing that like all day, right time job.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
And they're so tall, they have unique adaptations to like
manage their blood pressure when they do have to bend
down to drink water, So they're very unique. You can't
just fold your legs down and they have to like
spread their legs out and dip their head down. Because
they're so tall, it takes so much work to get
the blood rushing up to their head and all the
way back down, So they're very unique. They have super
tight skin around their legs that allows them to be
(06:40):
able to bend down drink water and not get a
head rush when they stand back up.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
And that's important, the tight skin because it keeps a
pressure on the vessels of names.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Yeah, it doesn't let all the blood rush to the
head when they get down.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
It's funny, you know. I know for myself as a kid,
and I always admire drafts because they are so unique.
You think about all the other hoped animals that we
have around. For the most part, there's shapes and sizes,
although they vary, it's kind of a standard generalized thing
when you look at the giraffe. It's like, wait a minute,
they got stretched out. Never really thought of the fact that, yeah,
when I bend over sometimes you can get a little
(07:12):
bit of a head rush, or if you get up
too quickly, you get a little bit of a Disney spell.
You think about someone who's pushing fourteen eighteen feet in
height and they're bending down to drink the water. The physiology,
the way the body is built to help them manage
all that, it's truly fascinating.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
Yeah, it's actually inspired NASA to work with that idea
of how to control blood pressure, to work with some
of their spacesuits.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
That's pretty clear.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Giraffes and that.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Well, it's a biommicry science, right, That's what that is
is if we look at things in the wild and go,
wait a minute, how do we possibly leverage that in
a man made way.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Like the design of a raptor, like a falcon.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
And so to your point there, if we can go
to the bird thing, anybody traveling to San Diego to
come to the zoos fire pork on your airplane that
probably have a little winglet on the air Yeah, twenty
years ago airplanes didn't have those, but when they started
studying the long primary feathers of eagles and hawks, they
realize that allows for better aerodynamic use of the wing
and it's more fuel fish for airplanes. I love that,
miss So see giraffe and hawks doing that thing.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
I'm learning new things.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
I love it, you know. But to me, like you know,
I love the word diversity too.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
And as we're talking all these really cool adaptations for
a large mammal in Africa that needs to eat a lot,
but it's a.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Dry area, so I'm munch in every single day.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
But I'm also seeing I'm going to talk about a
bird again, but it's a local bird of black crested
phoebe who look at the world very differently, like they
catch insects in the air, So for them, it's going
at a faster speed. But I love that as we're
sitting here, we have different types of visuals or realms
that are happening in wildlife and interacting with it sothern
in a different way in here. There's really unique interactions
that happen too with giraffe, right, I mean, because they're
(08:49):
so tall in Africa, right, I mean, other animals are
checking them out for particular reason.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Can you speak to that.
Speaker 5 (08:54):
We call them the watch tower of the savannah. So
a group of giraffe is called a tower, and they're
just taller than everyone else. So they're cause stantly looking
around and seeing what's going on. So a lot of
animals read off of their behavior. If they start to
spook a predator, obviously anything smaller and littler must also
run away from said predator. Yeah, so that helps a
lot with them just being able to see over literally everything.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah, right, I mean, but I know, we know that
they can move pretty good too, right.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Oh, they can move.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
Yes, the long legs, you'd be like, okay, great, you
kind of just saunter around. They can get some high speeds.
They look very graceful when they run with really long legs,
galloping all over wid It's crazy to see. Yeah, they
can run so so gracefully over all these hills and
different sorts of terrain. So we're always really impressed at
how much they can move around this habitat.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yeah, no kidding, because the hoof is very unique. So
there's opposed to like a horse, it's like a two
toe as opposed to the right. Yeah, I mean, they're
navigating sand and rocks and grass and all sorts of
things after Oh, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Speaking of the hoofs too, and the long legs obviously
a lot of muscle mass to make that body move.
A lot of times people are surprised to hear that
giraffe can be very dangerous. Oh yeah, in the sense
of how do they defend themselves? Maybe if a lion
or two.
Speaker 5 (10:04):
So they're known for the long legs, being able to
kick and swing, so if there is a predator around,
they could easily lift a leg, swing a leg, things
like that at something that's down on the ground. Lions
are their main predators, so they're trying to kick and
keep away lions from their babies, from themselves things like that.
And then even between each other, like if males are
fighting for females or things like that, they swing the
(10:25):
entire neck and head towards each other and it is dramatic.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
It's wild. Get Rick's point to I think people forget.
Can you see the beautiful brown eyes, right, they seem
to be very just. But I like to rely on people. Man,
I do not want to cross the giraffe. Right, Like
you said, the kick in the giraffe can break the
jaw a lion, right, and we were talking before filming.
There's pointing things on top of the skull. Can you
talk about those really?
Speaker 5 (10:48):
What is jessicone is actually a part of the skull,
so unlike an antler that sheds and things like that,
it's a part of their skull.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
And they use it.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
In the idea of defending themselves when they're throwing their necks.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And things like, they're not shetting it.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
It stays, it stays there.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Do males and females both have it?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
They both have both have it.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Yeah, the males, right, we had we.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Had a male here. Sometimes they have extra calcium bumps, yes,
the thick in that school. So when they neck or
swing their heads at each other.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
For ye petition females, it's kind of like a very graceful,
smooth oscone. They're littler, they're still very much so there.
But our males they kind of like have a big
bumpier look all along the top of their head and
their oscacnes, and it's adding to the volume of being
able to swing at each other and be the more
assertive male.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Am I mistaken? There's also like thicker skin in the
tor so.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
I think yeah, because if you think about lowering ahead
and swinging out another individual, that's where they're aiming.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Can you describe it a little more like step by
step so the kids can visualize what's going on surround
this are getty. Oh, I see a female giraffe out there. Oh,
maybe she is, you know, looking for some action. Maybe
I don't know this one, so I want to know, like,
is it a male giraffe with a big territory or
everyone's just cruising around and opportunistically the more dominant one.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
How does that?
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Yeah, as far as I know, it's more of like
a male has a group situation and there's a more
dominant male. You can have younger males, but males tend
to go off on their own once they reach sexual maturity.
So you have a male who's kind of like, these
are my ladies, these are my girls, So he needs
to keep other males off of those if he wants
to be able to continue his genetic.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Right, it's a friend.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I just now I see that one other male. Oh,
he's looking at his ladies. He's coming over, So what's
going to happen?
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (12:24):
Absolutely, It's called posturing when males kind of go up
and they're like, all right.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
The beach or something.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Guys posturing, But.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Everyone postures, and that's something I talk to kids about.
You know. The animals communicate in so many different ways.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
It's not just a scent marking, you know, or a sound.
It's visual too. So okay, I got ahead of myself.
So they're posturing right now.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
They're posturing, and it's kind of like the decision of
who's going to make the first move, and you can
have the other male back off and be like, just kidding,
I'm not going to risk anything.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
My bad.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Yeah, I'm gonna look okay, but this is the scenario.
They're the same height.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Right, so now the costering didn't work.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
It's kind of like they don't really up to each other.
It's more of like a saunter. They saunter up to
each other, and then all of a sudden, you just
see one of them essentially roll their neck down this
very long, multiple foot long neck and just slam into
the other one and you can hear it, you can
hear the noise, and then it's just constantly necking each other.
(13:19):
One tires out, one ends up a little bit injured,
like anything like that.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Someone hard someone.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Yeah, someone decides to give up, and it can be quick,
it can be forever.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
It's definitely up to those males.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
So theoretically, if it's like the new guy in town,
any of the eagle song just went on the new
kid in town anyway. Anyway, the new guy that came
into prison to try to push off the male, the
existing male, he won.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
So now if the older male, the original male, takes.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Off licks his wounds, he's yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
But it points out to genetic diversity.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Right, So this guy had certain physical characteristics, stronger, maybe
he was eating better.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Yeah, there's so many different things that could.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Cory, right, and now he gets a mate with the
female pretty much.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yeah, right, going back to the necking and fighting of
them males too. I want people to know I did
not work with giraffe at all my career, but I
started getting closer and closer to them as an ambassador
and working with all of our different teams out here,
And the first time I had a giraffe actually come
and have its head very close to me, I was
(14:17):
a bit taken aback at how huge and massive the
skull of these animals. And so when we talk about
them at the end of a six foot long neck,
this ginormous head slapping against the body of another one.
Even at a distance, it may not look like much,
but if you really think about the weight that is
behind that and then the swinging and the velocity that
is a solid, hard hit. I'm not just like us
(14:40):
bunking heads jokingly, or even like goats hitting heads. This
is a lot more going on there with force and
the power of it all. So it seems almost like, oh,
they're just like knocking around a little bit, no big deal,
But this could actually cause serious injury.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Some tend to do it.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
Our females will once in a while do it when
they're like, hand, get off my food.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
Can't use no.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
As aggressively for lack of better words. But when two
males they have one thing in mind and one of
them is.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Going to win in one of them, my brain starts
thinking about like back to the communication thing, right that
overall most animals, most you know, we'll try to avoid
a physical interaction because to that male that just got
his butt beat by the other male exactly, you know,
you have to color it up a little bit. But
you know, what if you cut and what if now
it's infected, and now maybe he doesn't survive.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
So there's all these other aspects that they have to
worry about.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So it's not the first thing they do, but the
postering and know the things that they'll try.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Yeah, most animals are going to always try and take
the least effective route. They don't want to be hurt
because if you're hurt in the wild, there aren't like
us where we see an animal and we're like, okay,
we now have to deal with it.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
We have to treat it right. We're going to make
sure you're okay out in the wild. There isn't that.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Yeah, And actually it's speaking to that because I wanted
to ask, you know, what's it like working on an
animal that can give you a pretty gnarly kick. But
you know we were talking earlier that you're building up
trust and you're doing training process.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah, I wanted to ask how smart you know people
always ask we who's as smart as a dog or
house smartest? Oh yeah, there's mark, Yeah, training you guys.
So there's some intelligence there, right.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
There is some intelligence.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Sometimes you look at them and you're like, are you
looking at anything? They're sing things, it's windy and they run.
You're like, what do you what do you do? But no,
most of these animals were around twenty four to seven.
We're here when they wake up, we're here when we
go to bed. We're seeing birds, we're seeing deaths, we're
seeing all the things. So we're here for their whole lives.
So we're building these relationships with these animals and that's
(16:25):
allowed us to build up situations where they don't have
a fear of us.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
But it's a respect between everyone for sure.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
As you're saying that there's one approaching us close, but
it does speak to what you're talking about. You're building
up this relationship and not in a domestic dog kind
of way or a domestic kind of way. We're establishing communication.
It's and fancy operating conditioning techniques.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
It can be positive negative punishment, which you don't really
do too much of it here, and more of the
positive reinforcement. There's also a negative reinforcement, but these are
all tools that we can utilize, but with positive reinforcement.
I'm a big behavior nerd, but I love that you
have an area behind this here that you focus a
little bit of your training.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
That you do with these animals.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
Yeah, We tend to train in specific areas, mainly because,
as I mentioned before, there's multiple different species in here,
and rhinos are like, I want to train two, so
we don't want all of everyone involved at the same time,
so we'll train them generally at more specific times during
the day. So like rhinos know, they get trained in
the morning and draft get trained in the afternoon. So
it's kind of being able to regulate a multi species exhibit.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I'm just going to say a lot that schedule because
some people don't think about that. You know, maybe the
different habitats. You have one species, maybe two habitat that
you're facilitating, you're managing, But here you have what you said,
over ten different species. They have to navigate absolutely, so
that makes a lot of sense. Yeah, what are someone like,
give me your top two or top three behaviors that
you focus on with this kind of animal.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
What do you got to do?
Speaker 5 (17:45):
So we want all of our animals to recognize their names.
All of our animals have names, and so name recognition
is a big one, especially if you're trying to draw
someone over to, for example, look at their hoofs or
other things like that.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Sorry, okay, name recognition who's the one messing with the
manda right.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Now, Kanie checking it out.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
You know.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
But again this speaks to the relationship that you guess,
this is not something that happened with a giraffe.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
No, it's a level of trust, like we respect of
their wild animals. They're huge, like they're saying, like, they
have adaptations to protect themselves, and we know their limits,
they know our limits, and it's very much just like
a give and take relationship, right yeah, And so they
allow us essentially to interact with them all the time.
We've worked with a lot of Name recognition for these
guys was number one, Like if you're gonna have a
(18:32):
little baby.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Giraffe, it should know its name, right.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
So then we also want to you know, as I
was talking about, they have hoofs, they have the two toes,
and you want to maintain those in the wild. They're
walking so often all the time over different types of terrain,
and we try to keep that as variable as possible
out here, but we're still going to have to maintain it.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
It wants to.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Check out the camera.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Apparently she's a fan of Sony, But you know, as
you're speaking, I'm looking at the hoofs, and you're absolutely right. Now,
I'm trying to think, like, would I want to like
kneel down and like get down there and work on
a hoof?
Speaker 1 (19:03):
What's that like?
Speaker 5 (19:04):
Don't So we have to work with them for the
fact that their comfort level is what we base everything
off of. So we always have some sort of form
of protection. I'm not just jumping off the truck here
at all. It's our safety and their safety all along.
They are a mega vertebrate, So we have this area
back here, and we do set up other different pieces
of woods that we are protected at all times. Right,
And it's very much still reading the animal. You're never
(19:24):
doing anything alone. If someone says she looks uncomfortable, we're
all backing up and we're resetting.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
Things like that.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
That's awesome.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
Yeah, it's all on the animal's idea of what they
want to do that day.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Wow, I'm even something as simple like right now Yamakanie
was her name, as simple as her even like she's
turning right now, turning, you would have to be aware
because it's such a big animal.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
I don't think she'd know that she'd knock you over right.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Oh No, So you're really just having a navigate this
really unique.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Space with them.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Yeah, and you mentioned their big eyes.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
And if you see, like those big eyes, see a
lot in front of them and to the side of them,
but they can't see behind them, so they have like
a certain amount of visions, so they're swinging their head
to see what.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Is a over here for example.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
You're up, so I've been right now. Anybody listening When
these videos finally do go on to YouTube, we have
to watch this episode. Yama Connie is right here in
front of us now.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
And you guys a part of We're gonna hint at
it right your social media handle on Instagram, zoology right.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
As well. Yeah, this is a uniqueness, right, This is
the joy.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Of our podcast is we get to actually be mobile,
We get to come out into these spaces. Can't thank
you enough for just I you know, we nort really
think at the end of but I want to thank
you now because that's a unique experience for us. Yama
Connie be right here and we just kind of check
us out and move on. Unique experience for our audience
who gets to watch this later as well. So you
guys were talking about all we're talking about the eye.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Oh yeah, so they get the long old eyes.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Yeah, so like being the watch hower of the span,
and they have great ability to see far and wide,
not just being over everything, but they just have this
awareness with them. So because of that, they can't see
behind them. So they always kind of.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Rely on being in this tower situation.
Speaker 5 (20:55):
So for example, when they have babies, they need to
go out, they need to get all of the forage
and things like that.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
They still need to.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Maintain their abilities, so they have different moms watch over kids.
We call them aunties really, so they have this exactly,
so it's like take care essentially.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
I love.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
I didn't know they did that.
Speaker 5 (21:11):
The little babies can't keep up with mom all the time,
so they'll have one or two moms kind of watch
everybody while the others go out and find all the
food things like that, and then they'll switch off.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
So that's really cool. We've seen it in here.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Actually it's beneficial, right, I mean, you guys are out
there so many predators out there when you have babies.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
You know, it's interesting. I remember when we did our
market episode the beginning of this season. Well, the use
social stuff, but I was thinking about the pups will
stay in the den while mom goes food, and the
aunties will hang out and take care of the kids
while she goes to It's kind of the same idea,
absolutely differently in the sense that they're not in a burrow,
but it's that whole concept of community and the group's
taking care of each other and taking care of the young,
(21:50):
even if it's not there young. Because there's that community,
that safety in numbers the well being for everybody.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
That's right, cool. I know, I love that.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I mean I love having like the right that's really
that lot side question a budget, swim them up, excuse
me for that.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
That's some of the nuances that happens in the wild everyone.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
But earlier you a Connie came over and she was
licking a little bit of the truck. But I wanted
to ask you about the spit the mucus saliva.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
It's a unique trait about it. Can you speak a
little bit about that for me?
Speaker 5 (22:17):
So something that they eat in the wild is generally
thorny acasha, So it's a type of tree and they
use that very long tongue that manipulates different things to
pull off the leaves and things like that. So the
saliva keeps everything kind of liquid, so they're not exactly
poking and hurting themselves when eating thorns.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Oh that's really cool.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
And the tongue too. It's block for a specific reason too, right.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
I couldn't tell you what that reason is actually.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Know I was. I was trying to lead you everything.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
But I heard from the last episode with Charlie Hide
its black for like some block it was really two
years ago.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Yeah, I was twenty twenty three.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Man, I had bad time reference, you know, it was
just yesterday.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
But again, like they're eating during daytime hours, right, which
leads me to the question they're generally not forging a
lot of nighttime hours or they are.
Speaker 5 (22:57):
You thinking Knight's just a bit dangerous out ya? Absolutely,
and they do. People are like, do they lay down?
Speaker 4 (23:03):
And they do. It takes a lot of effort for
them to get down there.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Yeah, but they are able to kind of fold their
legs underneath them and just lay there. And they look
really tall with just their neck kind of coming out
of the ground. But they are able to lay down.
But it's more of a situation where someone's always up
and watching.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Yeah, you're kidding, and I was reading it.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
They don't do like I'm more of a ten hour
sleep or sometimes they wouldn't be doing.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
That, right, you can't do that out there.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
It's almost like I call it like the President's sleep.
You know, I read somewhere like he'll sleep at twenty minutes,
a little mass naps. But do they do like quick
little nappies.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
Or they do yeah, short amounts, especially the older they get.
For example, babies need a ton of sleep. They're exhausted
for running around being crazy all the time. They're growing
exactly minor details they have to get big. So usually
it's twenty minutes to the time, one to two hours,
never a long amount of time.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
On the ground.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Yeah, Actually thinking about babies, I don't know if you
can speak to this, but like i'd read where giving birth,
you know, it is a six foot tall baby, but
it's a big drop.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Mask baby right into the world, right.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
But it kind of makes you know those movies like
you know, when they're giving birth, and I don't know
if they do this were in reality, but you know,
the doctor slaps the babies, the human baby, but the
baby there's I had read somewhere like is it kind
of a giraffe version of that? You know that the
drop actually helps stimulate the baby. Woke it up because
they got to get up really really fast.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Yeah, in the wild with predators, they need to get
up as quickly as possible.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
I've read somewhere it's like within thirty to forty minutes. Yeah, yes,
and starting to follow mom.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Can you imagine that like drag your dad? Can you
imagine your kid that's over run?
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Wow? So wild they're wobbly on their legs.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah, we were talking.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
We've had baby giraffes here at the Safari parking in
the San Diego Zoo too, right, part of that managed
care for these species, I mean, unfortunately, you know, they're
not doing so good out there in the wild for
the habitat fragmentation, A big one is actually wildlife trafficking,
you know, drive down here. Was trying to think, how
do we tell kids. I don't know what you think
or you think, Rick, but what do we tell kids?
How can they help a giraffe out? Basically, like my
(24:59):
main one is just go support your local zoo and
aquarium that's accredited and they're doing good work out there
helping out manage populations, genetic diversity, right.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Certainly well and then to your point. As the Santegazoo
Wildlife Alliance. As an alliance, we have allies all over
the world and we have several groups we work with
in Kenya that also then do work around Africa for
the giraffe population. So that's the beauty of supporting your
local zoo is like when you support the Wildlife Alliance,
you're supporting that bigger picture of the conservation work that
we do. And that's what I always enjoy about hearing
(25:29):
people falling in love with giraffe here at the Sane Fipark.
Is that then that it's like, what can I do
to help can and well, you know, just be in
here helps, but you can do more. There's a lot
of things you can go online and help out with.
We used to and I'm not sure if it still exists,
but we used to have a twigger group we were
part of where there's the camera trap footage where you
can go through and actually identify the different giraffe and
the shots and all that sort of thing. You go
(25:49):
online and do it as a volunteer. So there's a
lot of ways progress exactly. There's a lot of way
people can get involved, and I think it's a wonderful thing.
You know.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Another one for me, you guys, is actually traveling honestly,
you know, because I know that's an issue for girafts,
you know, parts of their body for different reasons.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Maybe they think it's a religious ceremonial purpose.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
But what I tell people, like when you travel, so
you're going down to Africa, like maybe don't buy that
weird thing that looks like or.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Possibly even a seed or a feather of a bird.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
You don't know what's happening to that wildlife when they're
trying to procure those items. So I just tell people
when they travel, just you know, put your money to
good purposes and taking good.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Seriously.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Yeah, and as you're talking, look it behind us right
now visually they can't.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Are you getting in it?
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Like I got a wildlife Safari vehicle if you're not familiar.
For those listening, this is my favorite tour or experience
we have at the Safari Park.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
It's almost like doing your job and not really doing
your job. Get used dirty. Just give me the look again.
I don't want to get the side.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
But literally they can go on the back of a
Safari truck and they can go into these large habitats.
This is the one makes a Safari Park. No, no
shade to the zoo. I love you the zoo, but
the Safari Park is saying a situation that you can
actually go into the habitat of these animals, multi species
over ten that you said, and our guests can experiences.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Hi. Guess, Hi, good to see it.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
We're just doing a recording of a podcast, you know.
That's a yeah, we're literally recording right now. Good to
see But rates in fact that you guess I've known
here since I was a teenager here, and that's the
other thing.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
I know.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
We're talking heavy on the giraffes and conservation, but tell me, like,
for you, being a human here working here, what is
it about this place that makes it so special for you?
Speaker 1 (27:22):
I know I can speak forever.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
I mean, for me, it was a lifelong goal to
end up at the zoo or the Safari Park.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
How was it to come here? Yes? How did that happen?
Like you're a kid, Like I was a little.
Speaker 5 (27:31):
Kid and I was at the zoo and I was like,
this is where I want to be and I ended
up at the Safari Park and it's like stepping into Africa.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Every single day. Really, it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Everyone has a different origin story because kids are always
asking me how to become a wildlife here specialist. Can
you share a little about your story, Like was it college?
Was it just firsthand experience?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
What was it?
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (27:49):
I was kind of both, So I do have multiple
degrees and environmental science and wildlife conservation biology, but it's
also having the experience.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
As Dan mcconnie's alteration.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Camera, Bet, who's going to get that? You're right though?
That is like, is the word viscus? It's thick, I mean.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
Robbery.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
My parents had a bloodhound before. That is definitely thicker
and then blood. I gotta say, but you're right though.
Oh sorry, can you say your degrees one more time?
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Because kids are always wondering.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
Absolutely wildlife conservation biology and environmental science, and I know
multiple people here have psychology, zoology, really anything that kind
of gives you an idea of how animals work.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
And for me, it was a lot of experience as well.
Speaker 5 (28:39):
I did a lot of wildlife rehab work, large carnivore sanctuaries,
all the big Like.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
For me, it's three things, you guys, it's academic, right,
it's experience, but it's also networking.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
People can get the networking thing.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
And I'm not dissuading going to college suit, but I
also want to point out for other kids and maybe
college isn't the right path for them.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Like I grew up here, I learned everything.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Like Charlie hyde per degree was graphic design.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
She works with giraffes. So the kids, the adults listening.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Every path is different, you know, but it does help
you out if you can stack the deck because this
is a it's a pretty popular place to work, right
you know it is.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Yeah, And it's really about the people. I think that
makes this place so unique. How's your team? Is it you?
And one of the person is it you? And like
ten twenty what's your day staff? What's that like?
Speaker 5 (29:22):
Usually we have about eight to ten people here for
this run. Specifically, we cover a few different areas.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
I mean like this describes the area.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Yes, so we have a few different areas that this
team itself covers, okay, and then there's multiple teams throughout
the park.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
It's a big space bots of animals.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Like for instance, right now we're in East Africa, but
in South Africa area we have massige giraffe, right so
is it like giraffe specialists or do you separate, like
what's your area?
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Do you do both areas?
Speaker 4 (29:47):
It generally is separate just by the area.
Speaker 5 (29:49):
So we have a different team that covers the Masside
giraffe right now, and sometimes we can have some crossover
and things like that, but right now I'm and my
team are all in this East Africa habitat and the
two other habitats we cover as well.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Oh yeah, every morning is a little different. Give me
your first hour in the day. What are you doing?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
So we all meet in the morning to touch base
on all of the animals.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Early, right, like you're waking What is it six o'clock starting.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
We clock in at six?
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Yeah, six o'clock. Everyone just pointed out.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
Which right now it's light out at six, but in
the winter it is not.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Yeah, yeah, right, that speaks to that.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
And it's not an office, right, So if it's like
maybe thirty eight degrees, because you can't get cold out
here in the sample squad valley where we're at, you know, yeah,
you're bumbling up. I'm go I know this guy you
know from the up.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Northernland door down here for twenty plus years.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
I'm chilly right now. You guys, it's like seventy five below.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
I'm cold, but to that your rain, shine, frost, It
don't matter. You're out here six o'clock. You get together
with your team, you said.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
We get together with a team. We touch base.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
We all kind of go on different areas during the day,
and some days you'll be in this area with our
draft and the other ten species in here. We take
care of another area that focuses on asiatic species. Oh yeah,
that's adjacent to this area, right, Yeah, so there's people
doing that run as well.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
We eventually have to clean up all the poop these
animals make.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Oh that is I'm looking right now and maybe maybe
I see a little bit here and there, but being
so cast instead coming across. What's that like? I mean,
is that an everyday thing or.
Speaker 5 (31:14):
Generally as much as we can, Yeah, I mean they
all kind of go a couple of times a day,
so it's hard to maintaine, you know, it's really do Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Actually, you're right, it is, hey, right, But I like
the dynamics of poop too. You learn a lot from it.
You know why they're doing it, why they're doing at
the consistency, and I know just from experience. But the
giraffe droppings are different than like the larger ones here
that you're seeing, right, can you describe what a giraft dropping.
Speaker 5 (31:35):
Yeah, giraft poop is generally appellated, so it's about I
don't like comparing it to candy, but most people do
a little.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Bit a whopper. Kids do not put giraffe in your mouth.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Similar shape, but I would imagine and correct me if
I'm wrong, But I would imagine because it's such a
dry area and ecosystem, they are trying to get as
much moisture as it can out of.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Their food, right, So that's why it's so small and other.
Speaker 5 (32:00):
Small impelletted and we can tell a lot from their
health based on what they do, excrete for any of
our species out here. So we tend to keep a
very close eye on it, whether it's as they're going
or cleaning up things like that, Like it's an important
part of what of animal Careah.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
I would get to use the lot as I would
break up poop and look at it because I'm also
curious what's going on.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Yeah, we can learn a lot from that, you know, true? Yeah? Wow?
Speaker 2 (32:20):
All right, So bringing it back to draft, we wrap up.
We do need to going soon, Okay, I want to
bring back to drafts. Last question for you, what is
your favorite adaptation or fact about the giraffe or the
one thing that you're like, oh, that's just so cool,
oh god, And if you have multiple, they just pick one,
pick one.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
That's so challenging.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
I mean for me, it's interesting because their spots help
with keeping them cool in the hot sun. So for example,
they have thicker blood vessels that go around their spots,
which we talked about earlier.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Their spots are.
Speaker 5 (32:48):
All unique to them because we have Thompson Gizalz running
around behind us, and they have the thicker blood vessels
around the outside of the spot, and then the inside
of the spot has kind of like veiny thinner ones,
and they're able to control how much blood goes around
to the spots to be able to cool off.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
It's a darker color, right, yeah, it absorbs a sun
warm up or vice versa. It's really hot, you want
more blood flow in the lighter parts of the press.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I actually did not know that exactly.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
Awesome, Yeah, I can see you there.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
Well, then, on that note, thank you so very much
for your time for allowing us to come sit in
your office and hang out with your co workers. Really
appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Thank you, Yeah, I appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (33:27):
Think thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
I learned a lot, right, that was really cool?
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Well I will say not only learned a lot, but
learn something new. Oh ye, perfect way to end that.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
That's what I love this job of ours, right, and
then we're always students for life. It was a tell people,
I never trust someone that says you know everything, something
like never worlds along a stage draft and now guess
can know? Come visit us with the Safari party, right
or the zoo help out and draft conservation. Even just
getting excited and learning about your.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Rafts I think will help out.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Right. And if you're listening to this episode after June
twenty first, yeah, well mark your calendar for next year,
you'll know to celebrate World Draft Day.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Ohtally, Yeah, that's awesome. And what are we going to
do next time?
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Well, about three episodes in a row here at the
parkast time, go to the zoo market.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
I don't want no angry letters everyone.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I like the zoo. I love the zoo. But why
are we going to the zoo?
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Then? Well, the next episode after this comes out in
early July, which we were getting very close to the
anniversary when the pandas came back to the zoo, so
I thought, maybe it's time to go check in and
see how they're doing it for the first year.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
All right, get some bunch of nuts and with some pandas,
there you go. Excellent, excellent, Well with that, Marco Witt.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
And I'm Rick Schwartz. Thanks for watching and listening. We're
listening and watching whichever as you do.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
For more information about the San Diego Zoo and San
Diego Zoo Safari Park, go to s d z w
a dot org. Amazing Wildlife is a production of iHeartRadio.
Our supervising producers are Nikia Swinton and Dylan Fagan, and
our sound designers are Sierra Spreen and Matt Russell. For
more shows from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
(35:02):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Rick Schwartz
Marco Wendt
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