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Walking around the zoo, I saw a young giraffe with her legs spread out eating grass. Her
posture looked so funny and bizarre that I decided to record it.
I never thought a giraffe would have problems reaching the ground. With such long necks
and legs, I thought they could reach just about anywhere, but that is not always the case
As I was recording, I concentrated on the juvenile, but during editing, I noticed all
of them behaving in a similar manner. It was not as apparent at first glance due to their
positioning but the standing adult did spread her legs but was sideways to the camera. The
one laying down did so as not to spread'em.
The Wikipedia article stated this method of feeding is normal for the species.
It was still funny though...
Many of my recordings happened in the same area, unfortunately the audio for all of them
got ruined by a weed wacker.
If I had a shotgun mic, the problem could've been lessened if not eliminated, but the point
of the camcorder is its portability. Having that type of mic would negate that feature.
My early recording were all done with my phone, I became used to the portability of that device.
It's really hard to give that up...
My solution was to replace the audio, unfortunately, the original background got lost. In most
cases, as the animals are usually pretty quiet, it is not a big deal. This is one of those cases.
I could've returned some other day when the grass was not being cut, but this zoo
was quite a trip for me. Fun, but still a drive.
Maybe when I return next year, I'll have better luck.
I think moments like those, of the giraffe in such an awkward position, are something
that can be better experienced in person than through a book.
As a matter of fact, the Wikipedia did mention it, but it wasn't until I saw it that I
understood it's significance.
In that position, the giraffe is most vulnerable to predators, which may explain why they prefered
eating grass as a group.
Safety in numbers, plus they have an excellent excuse for a family outing.