I was looking through some old photos and realized that I have had run-ins with wildlife before the elephant and tiger experiences in Thailand. During a swamp tour in Louisiana I held a baby crocodile, which chomped on my thumb (fortunately it didn't break the skin and was probably the only time a crocodile is chomping on you that you would saw "awww, how cute." I hope that little croc didn't develop a taste for human blood.
In Lamu, Kenya, on the way to see sea turtles hatch, we walked through the farm of the goat herd who guarded the sea turtle eggs for extra money. Baby goats had also just hatched, and we got to hold them. I picked up one of them and he peed on me. I guess I'm not that good with kids. At least the sea turtles just ran away from me.
In Nairobi, Kenya, I wanted to get "kissed" by a giraffe. It seemed easy enough - they had it all set up, and I watched a few other tourists try it. You walk up to a raised platform and held a piece of giraffe kibble in your mouth. Then the giraffe would come over and gently grab the kibble from your mouth, and it would look like you were being kissed by a wild animal. Just like in National Geographic.
So I handed my camera to my friend and popped the kibble in my mouth. The tallest giraffe came right over and gently grabbed it. Cool! But my friend hadn't taken the picture; she was too interested in watching. So I popped another piece of kibble - smooch - oops no flash. Kissed again - just missed the shot. Kissed again - those giraffes are swift smoochers! So as I was explaining to my friend that she should start pressing the button as the giraffe swooped in, still in kissing range, the momma giraffe came over and bonked me on top of my head with the bottom of hers. I wasn't feeding her fast enough. Now picture a giraffe and think of all the leverage and gravity that could come into play slinging that big anvil head around. It really hurt. Tears came to my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was kiss that bitch. But I really wanted the photo.
