A visit to Mugie isn’t complete without spending some time with Tala the giraffe. Her towering presence is hard to miss around Mugie Headquarters as she pokes her head in at the workshop or peers in at those working away at the main office. And she’s quite a noticeable addition to the herd of sheep or goats that she gloms onto for the morning, following the animals and their herder around Mugie as she browses for food. 

Tala has been a regular fixture at Mugie for about four years. At only a few days old, she was brought in by a neighboring community herder who found her trailing his herd of goats. Several days later she was brought to Mugie Headquarters and was put into the attentive care of a lovely woman, Margaret, or ‘Mama Tala’ as she was affectionately dubbed. Tala drank 3 liters of milk per day and slept in her own custom-built pen for shelter and protection at night. Mama Tala was never far away as Tala navigated her first few years and is still the person called upon to go find Tala when she has wandered off the conservancy and gotten herself in trouble. 

It’s a privilege to have Tala with us at Mugie, and a responsibility we don’t take lightly. Although Tala knows that she is always welcome at Mugie Headquarters and will likely get some pellets when she does make an appearance, she wanders freely throughout Mugie, browsing along the way, and making friends with other herds of giraffe.

By: Lizzie Odegaard