Reticulated Giraffe at Water Hole, Lewa Wilderness Conservancy, Kenya

Before our safari, I was unaware that there were different varieties of giraffes.  To me, they were all the same …  beautiful, long-necked creatures.  As I was searching for an image for this week’s ‘Rule of Odds’ (where an image is more appealing when there is an odd number of subjects), I thought this image of a mother, daughter and baby were a good example versus had it only been mother and baby.  These are Reticulated Giraffes with their striking and crisp geometric patches, with males being darker as they age.

Below, although a nice image, I find not as interesting as the one above.  But it does provide an example of the difference in giraffes.  These are Masai Giraffe, whose irregular brown patches are on a yellow-buff background whereas the Reticulated Giraffes’ pattern is much more crisp.  Just another little interesting fact I learned from our wonderful guides in Kenya.