Wits Rural is a special place to stay. If you are like me, I love jogging through the property in the mornings and evenings, never knowing if I might see zebra, impala, or - if I'm lucky- the giraffes. These majestic creatures have roamed the property for more than a decade, bringing happiness to visitors from around the world.

Unfortunately, one of the giraffes somehow managed to cross the fence into the neighboring property (which is open to Kruger National Park- we will never get him back) and a second one passed away due to cancer in August. Only two giraffes are left.

Giraffes are pack animals that typically live in groups of 10-20 animals. The two remaining giraffes are showing signs of stress without their friends and family. We are asking for donations to purchase and transport an additional 8-10 giraffes to Wits Rual to stabilize the herd and improve the quality of life for the two remaining. Giraffes are not themselves expensive- but capturing and transporting them can be costly. We estimate about 800 USD per giraffe. We have found someone willing to sell theirs but we need to raise the funds to make it happen. We hope you will contribute to keeping Wits Rural a special place for generations to come.

I (Carolyn Audet, Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University) am leading the Go Fund Me drive as it is not a mechanism open to South Africans (there is a similar site there but it takes 4x more of the donations). I will work with Cameron Watt to transfer the money to South Africa and will post photos of our new giraffes as soon as we have them!