Little Rohit's Interview with Giraffe

Teaching children is a difficult task. Unless they find it interesting they won't bother to learn it. Through interviews children can learn a lot. It is fun to teach them about animals.

Rohit was a little boy studying in 3^rd standard. One day his parents decided to take him to a zoo where many animals and birds were housed. Since his examination was over and the summer vacation had begun, he was wondering how to spend his time. So he was thrilled to visit a zoo and see several animals and birds there some of which he had seen in the books.

First he goes to meet the baby giraffe. He is a great fan of giraffe and he likes them for their tall neck.

He goes and stands before the baby giraffe with a handful of questions to know more about them.

Rohit: Hello friend, I'm Rohit. I came to meet you. I want to learn more about you. Can I interview you?

Babu: Glad to meet you. Thanks for dropping to our home to know more about us.

I’m Babu, the baby giraffe of this kingdom. We belong to the Giraffe family.

Rohit: Which is your country?

Babu: We live in Africa.

Rohit: Tell me more about your family.

Babu: Ok, friend. I’ll be glad to tell you more about our family. It is my pride. You may be surprised to know that we are the tallest animals in earth. The longest necks make us look tallest. My parents have an average height of 18 feet. We have excellent vision which give us a wide view of the grassland where we stay. Our tongue has a length of approximately 21 inches and they are prehensile.

Rohit: What does that mean?

Babu: Prehensile means we can grab our food and hold to our tongues before chewing them.

Rohit: How much is your weight?

Babu: My weight was about 68 kg at birth and a height of about 6 feet. But my parents are heavier. My father weighs about 4,200 pounds and he has a height of about 18 feet. My mom weighs about 2500 pounds with a height of about 16 feet.

Rohit: Do you have any enemies in the forest?

Babu: Lions are our greatest enemies. We are very scared of them. They wait for our mother to move away from our side, so that they can jump on us and eat us in minutes. Last week my cousin was killed that way. I was also once attacked by a lion. Fortunately my mother immediately came to my rescue and protected me from his grip, using her powerful front legs with sharp hooves she killed him.

Rohit: How do you recognize when they come to attack you?

Babu: We make infrasound which other animals or humans can’t hear.

Rohit: Other than lions, do you have any other enemies?

Babu: We are scared of hyenas and wild dogs too. They too try to kill us.

Babu: Do you want to know some interesting facts about us?

Rohit: Sure, Please tell me now. I want to note them down.

Babu:

• We are the longest animal in the world.
  
• We can live for days without water.
• As you know only a few species of mammal can perceive color, and we are one among them.
• We can run in high speed - up to 35 mph (56 kph).
• You say for every human being the fingerprints are unique. In the same way each giraffe's coat is unique.
• Both male and female giraffes have horns, but for female giraffes their horns are smaller.
• We giraffes sleep about 1.9 hours per day, and we sleep while standing.
• When drinking we spread our legs so the head can reach the water level.
• We feed and drink during the morning and evening.
  

Rohit: Can you run like us?

Babu: Why not? We can run at an approximate speed of 56 kms an hour.

Rohit: What is your average life span?

Babu: My parents say that their grandparents lived upto 25 years in the wild, and in the zoo we can live longer, upto 28 years.

Rohit: When do you get a baby sister or baby brother?

Babu: My mother told me that I was born after 15 months of pregnancy.

Rohit: Do you usually fight each other?

Babu: The male giraffes do sometimes fight between them. But the female giraffes do not fight.

Rohit: When do you sleep?

Babu: Usually my parents sleep standing up, and they take turns in safeguarding us. They have 2 to 4 blunt horns on their heads.

Rohit: Babu, I like your beautiful spots on your body. Do all of you have the same type of spots?

Babu: No. No two giraffes have the same type of spots.

Rohit: I forgot to ask you one more question. Are you a vegetarian or non-vegetarian?

Babu: We eat only plants. Our favorite food is leaves, barks and twigs of thorny acacia plants.