Carter Giraffe Building
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Baby giraffe with mother
©WCS/J.Maher
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Stretch out your neck and look way up to greet our giraffes inside their winter quarters.*
Growing up to heights of 15 to 18 feet, these giants of the African savanna are the tallest animals in the world! They are also remarkably swift and graceful, despite their gawky appearance.
Inside the Carter Giraffe House, you’ll be close enough to examine the animals’ net-like pattern of spots. You’ll almost be able to stand right underneath the giraffes as they lean their great necks forward toward wall-hanging troughs, then reach out their 18-inch tongues to grab a mouthful of leaves and hay! Giraffes spend most of their days munching on plant matter that is out of reach of other browsing animals.
While you’re inside, pay a visit to the dwarf mongooses, bay duikers, and lovebirds that also live here, and hail from African grasslands and forests.
*Note: During the warmer months of the year, the giraffes can be seen cantoring outside on Giraffe Lawn, part of the African Plains.
