Giraffe Centre

The centre was founded in 1979 by Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville to save the Rothschild's giraffe, then reduced to a small remnant population in western Kenya, by breeding animals and translocating their offspring to protected areas; that programme has since put giraffes into several parks and the subspecies is in better shape than it was. Visitors climb a raised wooden platform level with the giraffes' heads and feed them pellets, which the animals take with their long dark tongues, and the encounter is close, safe and popular with children. A warthog family usually mooches around underneath hoovering up dropped pellets. There is a small education centre, a forest walk through the adjacent Gogo river sanctuary, and the whole thing funds conservation education for Kenyan schoolchildren, who visit in large numbers.

What you actually see

• The feeding platform - hand-feeding Rothschild's giraffes at head height.
• Warthogs - the resident family under the platform.
• The education centre - displays on the breeding and translocation programme.
• The forest walk - a short trail in the neighbouring sanctuary.

When to go

Year-round, opening daily. Mornings are quieter; school groups arrive mid-morning and weekends are busy. The giraffes are fed continuously through opening hours, so timing matters only for crowds.

Honest expectations

It is a small, busy attraction rather than a wildlife experience, and at peak times the platform is crowded. The visit takes about an hour. Giraffe saliva gets everywhere. Nairobi traffic to Karen can take an hour or more, so combine it with the Blixen museum or the elephant nursery.

Nearby

The Sheldrick elephant nursery and Karen Blixen Museum are minutes away.