Giraffe Centre, Nairobi

Giraffe Centre protects the highly endangered Rothschild’s Giraffe. It is located in the Karen area and was founded in 1979 by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife. The centre combines serious conservation with enjoyable activities.

Visitors pay a minimal entrance fee and come into close contact with these tall animals. You can touch, kiss, and feed them with specially prepared pellets provided by the staff from a raised wooden structure, which is quite an experience. The giraffes are now quite used to being touched by people and seem to like it, even looking forward to it. You may also spot warthogs snuffling about in the mud.

There is a self-guided forest walk just opposite the main entrance to the centre through the adjacent Gogo River Bird Sanctuary.

History of Giraffe Center

In 1979, Jock Leslie-Melville and his wife Betty began raising a baby giraffe in their Lang’ata home. When their African Fund for Endangered Wildlife was just getting off the ground, there were no more than 130 Rothschild’s Giraffes in the wild. They began the Giraffe Centre after discovering the sad plight of the Rothschild Giraffe. Unlike the more common reticulated and Masai giraffes, the Rothschild’s Giraffe had been pushed to the brink of extinction by severe habitat loss in western Kenya.

Their first effort to save the subspecies was to bring two young giraffes, Daisy and Marlon, to their home in the Lang’ata suburb, southwest of Nairobi. Here they raised the calves and started a programme of breeding giraffes in captivity. This is where the centre remains to date.

Currently, the population numbers more than 300. The centre has successfully released these charismatic creatures into Lake Nakuru National Park (home to around 45 giraffes), Mwea National Reserve, Ruma National Park, and Nasalot National Reserve. Recent herds have been introduced to Soysambu Ranch by Lake Elementaita in the Great Rift Valley, Kigio Conservancy, and the Sergoit Ranch in the Mount Elgon region.

Giraffe Centre entry fee

Resident Adults: Kshs. 400

Resident Children (Age 3yrs-12yrs): Kshs. 200 and free for Children below 3yrs of Age.

Non-Resident Adults: Kshs. 1,500

Non-resident Child (Age 3yrs-12yrs): Kshs. 750

School Groups: Free if booked at least one week in advance.