Can you ride a giraffe? ? ?

[bambodoggy]

Funny question I know but at least I can be fairly confident that it's not been asked before! lol

So, my wife and I were watching the new ITV drama "Wild at Heart" on sunday night and she suddenly asks me if you can ride a Giraffe I had a little think but to be honest I haven't a clue.
I know in Canada and northern USA some of the old timers rode tamed Moose and in fact quite a few of the poachers did so as they were faster through the dense woodland than the horses used by the RCMP and other agencies but I've never read anything about riding a giraffe.

Does anybody know one way or the other? Speculation is good but I'd really like an answer from somebody who really knows

Many thanks,

Bam.

 

[Longstrider]

Of course you can, we do it all the time up here in Bucks!

Seriously, I actually doubt it can be done successfully. The giraffes back is at one hell of a slope. You, or any saddle you tried fitting would surely slide straight off the rear end ? You would also need some pretty long reins as well.

I think that if it could be done, some Safari Park owner would have twigged onto it and would be selling giraffe rides as I speak. Never heard of it being done (and I used to work where they had a Safari Park)

 

[Keith_Beef]

Jared Diamond affirms in Guns, Germs and Steel that "...the ancient Egyptians... tamed giraffes (which can be dangerous)" (page 165) though he doesn't mention riding them. Later (page 389), he mentions that the giraffe was never domesticated.

There is a great difference between occasionally taming an individual of a wild species, and successfully farming a domesticated line or variety of that same species.

I think that the inhabitants of Africa had aple time to domesticate the large mammals. The fact that they failed to do so, yet adopted the domesticated large mammals of other regions (especially cattle, superficially so similar to hartebeeste and wildebeeste) shows that the giraffes and other large mammals native to Africa simply cannot be domesticated in the same way.

So I think that you might, possibly, be able to ride on a tamed wild giraffe. But the probability of being able to break any given giraffe to the saddle is extremely low.


K.

 

[pierre girard]

I know in Canada and northern USA some of the old timers rode tamed Moose and in fact quite a few of the poachers did so as they were faster through the dense woodland than the horses used by the RCMP and other agencies but I've never read anything about riding a giraffe.

Bam.

I'd love to see a source on this. I know some of the old timers used to rig up several moose in a team to haul a sleigh, but it was always for the bennefit of the camera and the moose were never tame (my g-grandfather did it). A short ride would see the harness all twisted or the sleigh on its side.

PG

 

[Longstrider]

I suppose the best answer is...

"No, I can't. Can you?"

 

[Topcat02]

How would you get on and off it? You'd need to carry a set of steps with you. I wonder who was brave enough to have first seen a wild elephant and thought, "Hmm, I bet I could ride that". - Now he/she definately deserved a medal.

 

[torjusg]

All pack mammals can be domesticated through breeding on the tamest individuals for many generations. I hear people say that Caribou can't be tamed, but they probably could, as reindeer do, with some effort. In Russia, some scientists has managed to make arctic foxes as tame as dogs.

Two things make domestication easier:
- Strong pack instinct.
- High intelligence.

Caribou and reindeer isn't particulary smart and they never become truely domesticated (attached to their owners) as dogs do.

War elephants were usually male as they are braver and more ferocious, but for all other purposes females are considered more suitable (sounds like what the feminists think of human males doesn't it? )

Torjus Gaaren

 

[Beer Monster]

Interesting proposition but I must admit I've never heard of it being done, however, here are a few other unusual mounts .........

"Rosendo Ribeiro, the first doctor in Nairobi, Kenya, bought a zebra in 1907, and visited his patients on zebra-back. He was a familiar sight in the straggling township. He later sold it to Bombay Zoo for 800 Rupees."

"This photo of zebra show-jumping is from the 1890s"

"Grevy's zebra of East Africa is immune to tsetse fly and colonists once viewed it as a substitute for the mule. Though easily broken to harness, the zebra has less endurance than the mule and is more liable to panic if startled. This 1920s/1930s photo shows zebra pairs harnessed between mules in Kenya."

"Ostrich cart rides for children helped pay for the animals' upkeep at zoos in the early 20th century. This photo was in a 1930s encyclopaedia."

"Ostrich racing in Czecho-Slovakia in the early 20th century. This photo was in a 1930s encyclopaedia."

"An attempt was once made in Chicago to popularise the wapiti as a carriage animal and riding animal. These photos were in a 1930s encyclopaedia."

 

[Goose]

How would you get on and off it? You'd need to carry a set of steps with you. I wonder who was brave enough to have first seen a wild elephant and thought, "Hmm, I bet I could ride that". - Now he/she definately deserved a medal.

I still wonder about the first person to milk a cow, and what did he think he was doing?

 

[bushtuckerman]

*coughizzardcough*

 

[bambodoggy]

I'd love to see a source on this. I know some of the old timers used to rig up several moose in a team to haul a sleigh, but it was always for the bennefit of the camera and the moose were never tame (my g-grandfather did it). A short ride would see the harness all twisted or the sleigh on its side.PG

Sorry Pierre, I may have lead you on a bit of a wild goose chase...I've found the sourse of my info and it wasn't Canada/USA where they rode moose it was in fact Russia and northern Siberia. I'd suggest that if it happened in Russia it may well have happened on the American continent too but I have no documentation for this.

Here's what I do have:

"In spite of it's ungainly appearance, large antlers and all, it can move with ease and grace through deadfall, deep snow, muskeg or water. During the reign of Russian's Catherine the Great, the authorities tried to maintain strict control over the domestication of moose because of their use as steeds by rebels and escapees of Siberian prison camps. The horse-mounted authorities were no match for the outlaws raiding a moose as it can run from 25 to 35 kilometres an hour through seemingly impassible deadfall".

Sourse: Bushcraft by Mors Kockanski, page: 258
ISBN 1-55105-122-2


Anyway, back to Giraffes....do they lay down? As in like Camels so you could get on and off them?
I'm just thinking...what a great way to see the savanha

Bam.

 

[Paganwolf]

I dont know about riding one but i think your having one bam lol

 

[torjusg]

The horse-mounted authorities were no match for the outlaws raiding a moose as it can run from 25 to 35 kilometres an hour through seemingly impassible deadfall

Jeez, no way I would have been on the back of a moose in speeds of 25 - 35 kilometres per hour!

Torjus Gaaren

 

[BorderReiver]

Don't know,haven't tried yet.

 

[Ahjno]

Anyway, back to Giraffes....do they lay down? As in like Camels so you could get on and off them?
I'm just thinking...what a great way to see the savanha

Can't really help you with your question Bam, but do know giraffes don't lay down as in like camels. When drinking they spread their legs widely to get themselves lower to the ground and bent their long neck towards the water. Same with sleeping (I think): they sleep standing on 4 legs. IIRC (long time ago that I went to the zoo), it would take ages to get upright, something that could become a bit tricky on the savannah when a lion (or the like) decides to have some giraffe for next days breakfast / lunch / whatever ...

Great question for Blue Peter or The weakest link etc.

 

[scruff]

i can't believe i'm entering this silly debate

....but....

if the giraffe was talll enough and the knees bend in the 'correct' direction perhaps you could sling a harness so you can ride underneath it?

of course you may need to wear a hat (pee hazard) and be prepared to jump out quick if it went to lay down!

 

[Bob]

The ultimate bushcraft stealth test - rigging up a hammock using a sleeping giraffe for support!!!

Often attempted - never survived !

 

[redcollective]

This is one of those questions most likely to come in the same whiskey fueled fireside conversation as "If aliens were fishing for humans what would they use as bait?" isn't it?

Speaking of which - what would they use as bait??

Don't answer that.

Back to the serious Giraffe question:

 

[Tengu]

My aunt rode an ostrich when staying in south africa.

 

[Ketchup]

Poor beast!!

I have seen giraffes sitting down by the way, but only small ones, maybe the big'uns cannot do it anymore?