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Elizabeth Fais

Monthly Archives: August 2014

Dining with Giraffes… Are you game?

31 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Adventure, Animals

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

AFEW, Africa, African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, Betty Leslie-Melville, Carr-Hartley family, Elizabeth Fais, Giraffe Manor, giraffes, Jock Leslie-Melville, Kenya, Lake Nakuru National Park, Nairobi, Raising Daisy Rothschild, Rothschild giraffes, The Last Giraffe

The world’s only giraffe hotel rests in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro. Yes, giraffe hotel.

Officially called Giraffe Manor, the estate is located near Nairobi, Kenya. Every morning the resident giraffes stroll up to the house, poking their heads through the windows in search of treats.

Giraffe Manor, exterior with giraffes poking their heads through windows

Can you think of anything more amazing than waking up to giraffes poking their heads through your bedroom window, and then having giraffes join you for breakfast? Seriously. Sign me up!

Breakfast with giraffes at Giraffe manor

The Makings of a Very Tall Tale

The original mansion was built in 1932 for a wealthy British family. But it wasn’t until 1974, when the property was purchased by Betty Leslie-Melville and her husband Jock, that the idea for a sanctuary dedicated to endangered Rothschild giraffes blossomed.

The first giraffe the Leslie-Melville’s took in was an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m), 450-pound baby they named Daisy, about whom Betty subsequently wrote the book Raising Daisy Rothschild that was later made into the film The Last Giraffe. So started the journey to protection for the endangered Rothschild giraffes. Giraffe Manor has been home to as many as 12 Rothschild giraffes at one time; currently there are eight in residence. The following image shows Betty Leslie-Melville having a quiet moment with Daisy Rothschild. [image: flicker.com]

Betty Leslie-Melville and Daisy Rothschild

In 1983, Betty’s son opened the Manor as a boutique hotel where guests could feed the giraffes from their breakfast table, through the front door, and from their bedroom windows. The Carr-Hartley family purchased Giraffe Manor in 1984 to continue the tradition of offering guests the rare opportunity to hang out with these gentle giants.

The hotel luxuriously caters to the resident giraffes and warthogs, as well the human guests who come from all over the world. A magical stay at Giraffe Manor is not cheap, but the one in a lifetime experience is priceless.

The proceeds generated by the hotel help to support a great cause: the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW). Not only is Giraffe Manor a sanctuary for an endangered species, but they also participate in a breeding program which introduces breeding pairs back into the wild.

The Tallest Living Mammals

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is native to Africa, and is the tallest living terrestrial animal.

Fully grown giraffes are approximately 16–20 ft tall, with an average weight of 2,628 lb) for an adult male and 1,825 lb) for an adult female. Giraffes have a lifespan of  up to 25 years in the wild. Because of their size, eyesight and powerful kicks, adult giraffes don’t have any predators, with the exception of man and lions.

Giraffes at Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

There are nine subspecies of giraffe, each with variations in markings that make them distinctly unique. Rothschild giraffes (that live at Giraffe Manor), named for Walter Rothschild, are also known as the Baringo or Ugandan giraffe. This subspecies’ natural habitat range includes parts of Uganda and Kenya. Fewer than 700 are believed to remain in the wild. Their endangered status makes the work done at Giraffe Manor for their protection all the more important. [image: Wikipedia, Rothschild’s giraffes at Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya]

A Sneak Peak at Giraffe Manor

A real-life sneak peek…


What’s your wildest dream adventure?


What goes around, comes around ~ Stories that come back again & again…

24 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Reading, Story, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

1984, Anne Rice, Blade Runner, Bram Stoker, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Catching Fire, Divergent, Dracula, Dystopian, Elizabeth Fais, George Orwell, Hero, Horror, Hunger Games, Interview with a Vampire, Joss Whedon, Paranormal, Road Warrior, Stephenie Meyer, supernatural, Suzanne Collins, Tim Kane, Twilight, Under the Never Sky, Vampire, Veronica Rossi, Veronica Roth

Girl sitting on the grass reading a bookSome things are destined to return: the seasons, fashion trends, and certain types of stories.

As a race, we have an inherent need for stories. They come from a deep place in our psyche, and shape our lives.

Science is now able to prove that stories affect our psychological make up. The New York Times article, Your Brain on Fiction, by Annie Murphy Paul, shows how reading fiction affects the way we react in social encounters in real life. The ability to internalize the emotions and actions of fictional characters, actually helps us cope with our own world in a more positive way. [image: morguefile.com]

Reading … enlarges and improves us as human beings. Brain science shows this claim is truer than we imagined.

Joseph Campbell’s interviews with Bill Moyers on The Power of the Myth discussed the universality of stories (myths), and the similarities in the types of stories told from cultures around the world.

Why We Need Certain Stories

You could write an exhaustive doctorate’s thesis on this topic. You’ll be glad to know I’m not. I was thinking about the recent vampire craze, and wondered  “why” certain story types keep coming back, each time with a huge social impact.

The following is some of my reasoning, totally unsupported by any research whatsoever. Your comments on the topic are welcome and appreciated!

Paranormal: Vampires

Vampires existed in folklore for centuries, and became world-renowned in the 19th Vampirecentury. Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” (1897) was one of the first novels in the vampire craze. In recent decades, “Interview with a Vampire” by Anne Rice, “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon, boosted the vampire pop culture phenomena.

Why the mass market fascination with blood sucking immortals? I think immortal is the operative word, with the monster factor playing a close second. [image: morguefile.com]

We are afraid of the unknown, and what happens after death is one of life’s biggest mysteries—one that makes us face our worst fear, extinction. We idolize vampires, because of their beatific immortality. They have been glamorized to such an extent that we overlook the fact that they are blood sucking monsters. In recent fiction, some vampires sparkle in sunlight and are portrayed as humanitarian—the Twilight series, for example.

In truth, vampires are at best monsters who enjoy the glamour of killing. Why do we crave stories about monsters? It’s kind of sick, if you think about it.

Or, maybe not…

I wrote an earlier blog post on this topic, titled Monsters We Love to Hate. To put it simply, we need something horrible onto which we can project our fear of the unknown—a monster that can be destroyed. The ability to vanquish monsters in a story, gives us a sense of control over our fears and conquering the unknown.

For an in-depth study of vampires in pop culture, check out “The Changing Vampire in Film and Television: A Critical Study of the Growth of a Genre” by Tim Kane.

Dystopian

Hunger GamesThe dystopian story—post apocalyptic, degenerated society—provides a venue for managing another type of fear. The primal fear of survival.

Survival is the crux of a dystopian story. Surviving under the worst possible conditions.

Dystopian stories are usually characterized by dehumanization (“1984” by George Orwell, and the 1980’s films Road Warrior and Blade Runner), totalitarian governments “(The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, “Divergent” by Veronica Roth), environmental disaster (“Under the Never Sky” by Veronica Rossi), and other characteristics associated with a severe decline in society.

The hero in a dystopian tale give us courage by showing us how to survive at all costs. How they cope with and overcome the hardships in their brutal world, helps us to face and overcome our own battles for survival, both real and imagined. In essence, dystopian stories teach us how to be our own hero. Everyone needs that type of encouragement at one time or another. There’s nothing more empowering than knowing you can save yourself. [image: The Hunger Games (movie)]


What are the stories you can’t get enough of?


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