get together for a period of time before dissolv-
ing. Other species with fission-fusion societies,
such as elephants and chimpanzees, tend to be
loquacious communicators. This has led some
researchers to suggest that giraffes may emit
low-frequency infrasound to communicate
with each other over long distances (similar to
the low-frequency rumblings of elephants), but
so far the evidence has been mixed.
AFTER TWO MINUTES of standing still, the giraffe
that Morkel has darted appears to realize how
weird she’s starting to feel. Suddenly she gal-
lops off from the group, her long legs seeming
to fly in slow motion.
Our truck sets off after her, weaving through
the tiger brush at 20 miles an hour, as the driver
tries to keep up with the sprinting animal.
Finally we’re able to shoot out in front of the
giraffe to cut her off. The tires screech to a halt
so that four men in the bed can leap out and set
up a rope line to slow the animal. As the giraffe
barrels straight into the line, the head local
researcher, Abdoul Razack Moussa Zaberiou,
is sent flying through the air while the giraffe
tumbles to the ground in a cloud of dust.
Morkel jumps on top of the downed giraffe
just below her head and plunges a syringe full
of antidote into a jugular vein, while two rang-
ers straddle the lower part of her neck to keep
her pinned. They only have about two minutes
until the animal comes to her senses, and so the
team hustles to stuff her ears with a rag and put
a blindfold over her eyes.GIRAFFES 109