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Comment by skohan | Hacker News Reader

This brings me back to the time I was in Kenya: seeing Giraffes in the wild was one of the most enchanting experiences I have had in nature.

I was walking in one of the national parks, and we happened upon a young one in a clearing. When we got a little closer, the rest of the group emerged, their necks rising above the trees in front of us. The whole group galloped past us, with a motion almost like they were in slow motion or underwater with the way they float on top of their long limbs.

It was really different from seeing them standing in a zoo.

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> in a zoo

I saw one at (I think) Disney Animal Kingdom. It seemed to be curious because it peeked into the vehicle. I was absolutely astonished at how huge the head was. They look so tiny up in the air. It was like seeing a traffic light at eye level for the first time.

The Nashville Zoo has a station where you go up on a platform and feed the giraffes lettuce. The heads are huge, the tongues are amazingly long and agile, and the slobber is nearly Great Dane grade.

Very cool thing, they charge $5 for the lettuce but its worth it. I'd pay more than that to be licked by a giraffe.

That is so cool. I remember seeing the giraffes at the San Diego Wild Animal Park at near head level, and they really are something up close. Didn't get to feed them, though!

> I was absolutely astonished at how huge the head was. They look so tiny up in the air.

A more accessible example of this effect is that your foot, heel to toe, is about the same length as your forearm, elbow to wrist.

People have real trouble believing this because your foot is always farther away than your arm is.

Who else just raised their foot to their forearm to compare? I can now verify that you are correct.

I did, and he isn't in my case.

In which direction was it off? For me it was about perfect

I raised my foot so my heel was data against my elbow and my toes are a good 3-4 inches from my wrist

Not even close. My arm is about 3 inches longer than my foot.

...or to look at your dick from above then closer up

I know the feeling. I've seen giraffes one time up close at a zoo. We were up on a raised platform about level with the giraffe's shoulders, it lowered its head down to look at us, I swear its eye wasn't much smaller than my head. I never expected them to be so big. They're gigantic. Like the size I used to picture things like brontosaurus and stuff. It gave me a whole new appreciation for that scale where they show a giraffe next to a brontosaurus. It made me realize I have no concept of how big they really must have been.

Yeah I lived in Kenya. Giraffes are highly intelligent and develop a friendly relationship with humans - at least the ones that feed them.

There are some parks where you could feed them up close. Not quite sure if they are as friendly in the wild though.

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