The Nairobi Giraffe Centre — operated by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW) in the Karen suburb of Nairobi, 10 km south of the city centre — is the most-visited single wildlife attraction in Kenya after the Masai Mara and has been the primary conservation breeding programme for the Rothschild’s (now classified as Nubian) giraffe in Kenya since 1979. The Centre’s conservation significance: the Nubian giraffe is classified as Endangered by the IUCN with approximately 3,000 individuals remaining in the wild across South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The visitor experience — a wooden elevated platform at the giraffe’s head height allowing nose-to-nose feeding of the resident herd — is the most intimate large mammal encounter in Nairobi and one of the most popular activities for families with children transiting through Kenya. This guide covers the Giraffe Centre for 2025 visitors, with information on the conservation programme, the visit logistics, and what to see in the surrounding Karen area.
About the Nubian Giraffe
The Nubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis — previously Rothschild’s giraffe, G. c. rothschildi, the subspecies name still used in most tourist materials) is the most endangered of the giraffe subspecies: the 2018 IUCN assessment estimated 2,645 mature individuals remaining, a 97% decline from historical population estimates. The Nubian giraffe is distinguished from other giraffe subspecies by the pattern of its coat: large, irregular chestnut patches on a cream background, without the reticulated network pattern of Masai giraffe (the most common subspecies in East Africa), and with white “stockings” on the lower legs (lack of patterning below the knee) that are unique to the Nubian subspecies. The species’ decline is primarily habitat loss (agricultural encroachment on the mosaic woodland savanna the giraffe requires) and poaching (the tail hair is used in traditional jewellery across East Africa). The AFEW Giraffe Centre’s breeding programme has produced 45+ calves since 1979 and the translocation programme has reestablished Nubian giraffe in parks from which they had been locally extirpated.
The Feeding Platform Experience
The Giraffe Centre’s central wooden platform (2 m elevated above ground level, matching the height of an adult giraffe’s neck) allows visitors to feed the resident herd of 9–12 Nubian giraffe pelleted food from the hand. The mechanics: visitors take a handful of pellets from the bucket provided by staff and extend a flat palm over the platform railing. The giraffe approaches to within 50 cm of the visitor and uses its 45–50 cm prehensile tongue to collect the pellets — the tongue, which is dark grey-purple in colour (protection against UV at the altitude the animals feed, where sun exposure is significant), wraps around the visitor’s hand in the process of collecting pellets. The sensation is unexpected: warm, firm, and slightly rough. The “Nairobi kiss” — presenting a pellet between pursed lips rather than in the palm, and allowing a giraffe to collect it with its tongue — is available for the willing visitor. It requires holding very still, closing the eyes immediately before the giraffe’s tongue makes contact, and suppressing the instinct to flinch. The experience is universally described as startling, memorable, and worth doing once.
The resident herd at the platform: 9–12 individuals at any given time, ranging from adults (3.5–4 m at the shoulder, 800–1,200 kg) to calves from the current year’s births (1.8–2 m at birth, growing rapidly). The calves are the most popular with visitors: at head height on the platform, a 2-month-old calf’s face is at eye level and the close-range encounter with a young giraffe is one of the most engaging wildlife encounters in Nairobi. The feeding platform is open throughout the visit (09:00–17:00) and is included in the entry fee — there is no separate charge for the feeding experience. Pellets are provided free of charge. Entry: USD $20/adult, USD $12/child (under 12), USD $5 for Kenya residents. The Giraffe Centre is also a working office for AFEW — the conservation staff are often present and happy to answer questions about the breeding programme and translocation work.
The Conservation and Translocation Programme
AFEW’s Giraffe Centre breeding programme works as follows: the resident Karen herd produces calves (typically 1–3 per year from the breeding adults), which are raised at the Giraffe Centre until they reach juvenile size (approximately 2–3 years old, 2.5–3 m at the shoulder), then translocated to conservation areas in Kenya where the Nubian giraffe subspecies can be reestablished. The translocation logistics: giraffe transport requires specialised high-sided trucks (the animals are not sedated during short translocations — the travel stress from sedation exceeds the transport stress for distances under 300 km), and the receiving conservation area requires pre-screening for food abundance and predator pressure. Successful translocations to date: Ruma National Park (western Kenya, on the Lambwe Valley — AFEW introduced 5 individuals in 1983, now a self-sustaining Nubian giraffe population of 35+), Nasalot National Reserve (northwestern Kenya — the most remote translocation, 600 km from Nairobi), Meru National Park (AFEW provided the founding individuals for Meru’s current Nubian population of 80+), and 3 Laikipia private ranches. The Meru National Park population — now breeding successfully without intervention — is the programme’s most significant success: from 0 Nubian giraffe in Meru in 1982 to a self-sustaining population of over 80 animals demonstrates that translocation breeding can effectively restore locally extinct subspecies populations.
Warthog Wildlife at the Centre
A secondary attraction at the Giraffe Centre that many visitors find equally engaging: the resident warthog family (Phacochoerus africanus) that lives in the Centre’s garden and has become completely habituated to visitor presence. The warthogs enter the Centre grounds daily to graze and to compete with the giraffe for fallen pellets under the feeding platform. Warthog behaviour at close range — the kneeling posture they adopt while grazing (their front legs are too short relative to their necks, so they kneel to reach the grass), the upright tail while running (the most recognisable warthog characteristic, the tail held vertically like a radio antenna), and the defensive use of their tusks in intra-herd disputes — is entertaining to observe. The warthogs are completely unafraid of visitors and will approach within 1–2 m, making close-range warthog photography possible without any equipment other than a phone camera.
Karen Blixen Museum and Surrounding Area
The Karen area surrounding the Giraffe Centre contains several other attractions worth combining for a Karen half-day. Karen Blixen Museum (2 km from the Giraffe Centre, open daily 09:30–18:00, entry KSh 1,200 / USD $9.50): the former home of Karen Blixen (1885–1962), the Danish author who farmed coffee in the Karen area from 1914 to 1931 and wrote about her experience in “Den Afrikanske Farm” (translated as “Out of Africa,” 1937, adapted into the 1985 film). The farmhouse (built 1910–1912 by Swedish farmer Ake Sjögren) is maintained as it appeared during Blixen’s residence, with original furniture and household items. The Ngong Hills visible behind the farmhouse (the blue hills of Karen Blixen’s most famous opening line — “I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills”) provide the visual backdrop that contextualises the memoir’s landscape. Tours of the farmhouse: 45 minutes, guided by museum staff. The surrounding coffee plantation is no longer operational (the land is now the Karen suburb’s residential area), but the farm’s original outbuildings and some of the original eucalyptus tree plantings remain.
Getting There, Timing and Practical Details 2025
- Location: Gogo Falls Road, Karen, Nairobi — 10 km south of the city centre, 5 km from Karen Shopping Centre
- Getting there: Uber from central Nairobi: KSh 600–1,000 (USD $4.50–7.50). Dedicated taxi from most Karen/Langata hotels: USD $10–15 round trip with waiting. No direct matatu route from the city centre — matatu to Karen Shopping Centre, then a 10-minute boda-boda or taxi ride to the Giraffe Centre.
- Opening hours: Daily 09:00–17:00. The feeding platform is most active in the morning (09:00–12:00) when the giraffe are hungry and most responsive to visitors. By mid-afternoon the giraffe tend to be full and less consistently present at the platform.
- Visit duration: 45 minutes to 1.5 hours for the Giraffe Centre alone. 2.5–3.5 hours including Karen Blixen Museum.
- Booking: No advance booking required. Entry tickets purchased at the gate. Credit cards accepted.
