Giraffe Centre

The Giraffe Centre is located in Langata, approximately 5km from the city centre of Nairobi, Kenya.  It was established to protect the endangered Rothschild giraffe which is only found in the grasslands of East Africa.

Jock Leslie Melville, the Kenyan grandson of a Scottish Earl, started the Giraffe Centre when he and his wife Betty captured a baby giraffe to start a program of breeding giraffe in captivity at their home in Langata – the home of the present giraffe centre.  The project has been a huge success since with the introduction of several breeding pairs of the Rothschild giraffe into Kenyan national parks.

By 1983, and years after founding a college, he had raised enough money to establish The Giraffe Centre as a tourist destination for visitors in Nairobi.  The main attraction features visitors feeding giraffe from a raised observation platform.

The Giraffe Centre is also home to several warthogs, which freely roam along with the giraffes.

It is located on Koitobus Road, Off Langata Road