The Great Giraffe Rescue: Saving the Nubian Giraffes
TABLE OF CONTENTS Something Amazing 4 Start at the Beginning 6 Follow Those Giraffes 12 Home New Home 18 Operation Twiga Begins 20 The Big Day 24 Operation Twiga Continues 30 The Rest of the Story 34 A Note from Sandra Markle 36 Did You Know 37 Glossary 38 Source Notes 39 Find Out More 39 Index 40
SOMETHING AMAZING Liza Dadone leapt from the truck as soon as it stopped She waded into the waist deep grass to get a closer look at a pair of giraffes in the distance A veterinarian at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs Colorado Dadone was here in the wooded grasslands of Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park to work on a conservation project She was part of a team helping endangered Nubian giraffes Easing close enough for a good look at the giraffes she had spotted Dadone smiled She recognized the male giraffe He was the one the team had named Melman A male front and female Nubian giraffe in Murchison Falls National Park Nubian giraffes live only in Ethiopia Kenya South Sudan and Uganda
Dadone didn't need to check this male's coat pattern against the cataloged photos of Nubian giraffes to be sure of his identity Although he was much taller and had matured from the two year old youngster she remembered his quirky jaw shape was unforgettable He was also part of the amazing story of how these giraffes came to be living here on the other side of a river from where they used to live That should have been impossible since giraffes can't swim the river was too deep to walk across and no bridge crossed the river So how did these giraffes come to be here Researchers identify each individual giraffe by its unique as human fingerprint spot pattern which they record with a photo
