Giraffe Ranch

Safari Wilderness Ranch in Lakeland Florida from Visit Central...

Wed, 18 May 2016 12:28:37 -0400

Safari Wilderness Ranch in Lakeland Florida from Visit Central Florida 4k from Giraffe Ranch on Vimeo.

camel-safari from Giraffe Ranch on Vimeo.

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 21:19:07 -0400

camel-safari from Giraffe Ranch on Vimeo.

segway-safari from Giraffe Ranch on Vimeo.

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 20:52:54 -0400

segway-safari from Giraffe Ranch on Vimeo.

Animal Adventures at Giraffe Ranch from Visit Florida from...

Sat, 14 Mar 2015 09:29:55 -0400

Animal Adventures at Giraffe Ranch from Visit Florida from Giraffe Ranch on Vimeo.

Otter Feeding at Giraffe Ranch from Giraffe Ranch on Vimeo.Have...

Tue, 10 Mar 2015 20:41:15 -0400

Otter Feeding at Giraffe Ranch from Giraffe Ranch on Vimeo.

Have you ever fed an otter?

Giraffe Ranch provides specialized aquatic and terrestrial homes for three species of otter from Asia and Africa. Learn about the three types of these aquatic carnivores, which vary in size from 5 to 70 pounds. These playful cousins of the weasel are fascinating and endearing. Feeding them fish directly from your hand provides a lasting memory. This activity is very exclusive and limited to a few participants per day.

Shot on Canon 7D w/ 50mm f/1.4, 17-40mm f/4.0L, 135mm f/2.0L. Edited in Premiere Pro.

Lemur Feeding at Giraffe Ranch (Florida) from Giraffe Ranch on...

Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:39:00 -0500

Lemur Feeding at Giraffe Ranch (Florida) from Giraffe Ranch on Vimeo.

At Giraffe Ranch in Tampa Bay, Florida you can learn about lemur social behaviors, what makes them primates like us, and why they are in danger of extinction. Enter the ring-tailed lemur habitat with a professional guide and hand feed grapes to a troop of playful prosimians. Ring-tailed lemurs are very polite. They will line up to gently touch your hand with theirs, carefully removing a grape from your fingers. They tilt their heads back, so as not to lose one drop of grape juice! This activity is very exclusive and limited to a few participants per day

GIF of the Day! An ostrich hen showing off her eggs! Giraffe...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 08:57:00 -0400

GIF of the Day! An ostrich hen showing off her eggs! Giraffe Ranch currently has two active ostrich nests.

Giraffe Ranch is proud to receive the honored designation by...

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 08:31:21 -0500

Giraffe Ranch is proud to receive the honored designation by Fodor’s Travel Intelligence of Fodor’s Choice.

Fodor’s review of Giraffe Ranch

Can you guess what this is? Try to do so before 17 seconds into...

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 10:56:24 -0400

Can you guess what this is?

Try to do so before 17 seconds into the video—before the secret is revealed!

What was your first impression?

A one-minute video introducing our new baby zebra — she is a...

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 10:31:26 -0400

A one-minute video introducing our new baby zebra — she is a filly!

Birdlife at Giraffe Ranch

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 10:27:00 -0400

Wet weather means better bird watching at Giraffe Ranch. Recent rains have filled Giraffe Ranch’s ephemeral wetland with over ten acres of water. This attracts hundreds of sandhill cranes, which communally roost in our wetlands to escape bobcat predation. We see hundreds of white ibis, and smaller groups glossy ibis, wood storks, roseate spoonbills, snowy, tricolor, cattle and American egrets. Great blue and little blue herons, blue-winged teal, mottled duck and black-bellied whistling duck are also seen frequently. We have been watching a pair of black-bellied whistling ducks raise nine ducklings. The mom and dad are excellent parents and are constantly alert. The little ones had zebra stripes when newly hatched, they now are more drab and should fledge in a week or so. All nine have survived thus far, even with lots of red-shouldered hawks and bald eagles in our area. This duck is relatively new to Florida, having expanded its range from Texas. The Indian rhino also love the wet weather, enjoying an even larger pool to lounge in. Our property varies 12 ft in elevation, which allows for most of the property to be high and dry year-round with the the wetland going from dry in the winter to wet in the summer. Our ephemeral wetland and the adjoining 875 square mile Green Swamp appear to be fully recharged after tropical storm “Debbie” and the subsequent rains.

Do the zebra dance!

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:18:00 -0400

Bear witness to our few-week-old zebra filly etching out her first dance moves!

Drama unfolds between our young zedonk and our zebra

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 09:34:56 -0400

Drama unfolds between our young zedonk and our zebra

New births and arrivals!

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 08:49:00 -0400

Zebra filly
Axis deer fawns
Blackbuck antelope calves
Ostrich chicks
Ring-tailed lemur pups
Pot-bellied piglets
Dutch belted rabbit kits
Tennessee fainting goat kids
Dexter cattle calves
Scimitar-horned oryx calf (This species is extinct in the wild.)
Pied Imperial pigeons
Red-billed hornbill
Capybara (world’s largest rodent)
Indian Myna birds

Stay posted for pictures!

Check out a few of the newest youngsters from SUMMER 2012!

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:39:28 -0400

Check out a few of the newest youngsters from SUMMER 2012!