GIRAFFE'S DRINKING - AFRICA, BOTSWANA, DUBA PLAINS GAME RESERVE A drink in the early morning light, they stop for a moment to study me and ponder what I'm about. The giraffe when drinking takes this tripod stance too support the tremendous weight of its head and neck to prevent spinal damage. In this position they cannot move quickly and are vulnerable to predators. In this image you see one has taken this stance to drink while the other stands lookout for danger. There is nothing I can think of like the first encounter in the wild with one or more of these lovely creatures. They come walking out of the landscape towards you as if from the pages of a Dr. Suess book. It leaves you with this distinct feeling of unreality, as if you are looking at a diorama. Similar to those I gazed at for hours as a child on my visits to the local Natural History museum. All is frozen in place but the eye and imagination makes it move. Yet here you are and all is moving, as you gaze in wonder and try to imagine how anyone could think up such a creature. Evolution and adaptation never cease to surprise and instruct me. This creature so well designed to feed on its favorite delicacy the acacia leaf, high in the tops of the trees and beyond the reach of most others. Shy and quiet dappled with spots, big brown eyes that gaze back in wonder at the funny little pink things on two legs. You imagine he thinks what a strange little creature and how does he ever find anything to eat way down there.