Giraffe Animal Experience
Always wanted to hand-feed a giraffe? Now’s your chance. Come and meet the whole herd and enjoy one of the best giraffe experiences in the UK. Great for family groups and individuals alike, this unique up-close animal experience makes for an unforgettable day out.
- 30-minute experience
- Includes full day’s admission to the safari park
- Family experiences for ages 8+
- Full guided talk and tour
Our family giraffe experience is for ages eight-plus and at least one adult must accompany any children. You’ll get to help our keeper’s prepare “enrichment” for the giraffe, such as willow branches and other foods they like to graze on.
This is a very exclusive experience for our guests as the giraffes are only fed by the public once a day, by a maximum of five people. This is to ensure the animals stay nice and relaxed and aren’t overwhelmed by too many visitors.
As well as hand-feeding the giraffes from the viewing platform (watch out for their big blue tongues), you’ll be able to spend time with them down on the ground, where you can really see how tall they are!
Meet our giraffes
We have four giraffes at Blair Drummond. They get on well as a family group, but each animal has a very different character. Each giraffe has a unique pattern of markings too. A giraffe’s spots may look similar but every pattern is different.
Sifa
Sifa is the male of the group. He’s six years old and an impressive 18-foot tall! He’s a Rothschild’s giraffe and came to us from Dublin zoo in 2023. In the wild, Sifa would be expected to defend his family group from other males, but here at Blair Drummond he’s free to relax and enjoy life.
Bella
Bella is the youngest female in the group. At fifteen, she’s still very sassy and confident. Watch out when you’re feeding Bella too – if you’re not doing it fast enough she’ll toss her head and tell you exactly what she thinks!
Ruby
Ruby is sixteen and has darker spots and a shorter tail than the rest of the group. Ruby is the brains of the family and has even taught herself to open all the slide-bolt gates with her tongue. The keepers now have to tie all the indoor feeding gates shut! Clever Ruby.
Harriet
Harriet is our oldest giraffe at nineteen. She’s also the smallest in height and the palest in colour. She’s very shy by nature and lots of people assume she’s the baby of the group because of her size.
How to feed a giraffe: our top tips
You’ll get the chance to hand-feed our giraffes, but it’s not always as easy as it looks, so follow our handy giraffe-feeding guide:
- If you’re feeding a branch, calmly hold it straight out in front of you and let the giraffe pick off the leaves or take it from your hand.
- Always approach the animals slowly and calmly – no shouting or sudden movements.
- If in doubt, ask your guide and they will show you how it’s done.
- Most of all, enjoy your incredible up-close experience with these beautiful animals.
Why is a giraffe’s tongue blue?
Did you know a giraffe’s tongue is blue? In fact, it’s thought that the dark ‘melanin’ pigment helps to protect their long tongue from the sun as they graze in high branches. Their thick saliva also contains anti-septic, which helps to heal any scratches or cuts they get from eating sharp thorns.
When you visit, our keepers will give you lots of fun facts about the giraffes, but if you want to find out more beforehand, you can visit our info page below. Or why not visit them virtually via the giraffe-cam in their house?
