WATCH: Giraffe with hole in face drinks water

A field guide, Ebenezer Rhode, described a sighting that had left him and his accompanying tourists in awe. During a guided tour at a watering hole in the Kapama Private Game Reserve last year, they happened upon what they thought was just another giraffe drinking water.

After a few minutes, they realised that as the water entered the giraffe’s mouth, some of it spilled out from a hole in the side of its face.

They had spotted this giraffe purely by accident, as they were at that particular spot to wait for lions.

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“It took us a few minutes to finally observe what was going on as it was just another giraffe drinking water, which is always special to observe. We do know that giraffes don’t just go and drink, they usually take their time while doing so and look for possible danger, as drinking leaves them vulnerable to any possible attack from predators.

“Once it was drinking, we saw something out of the ordinary: water entering the mouth and some of it immediately spilling out from the other side. We were all just amazed by what we witnessed and by how it showed us that animals always have that fighting spirit that shows not all injuries are fatal,” said Rhode.

He said was aware of this giraffe in the reserve, but not that it had a hole in the face.

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“I remember it had a big abscess in the face. It stayed relatively close to the lodge where I’m working and I could see that there was stuff coming out of it, so I took it that the abscess might have popped somehow.”

Rhode has been actively guiding for almost seven years now.

“This has really been one of those highlight moments that one would never forget. I’ve seen lion kills, I’ve seen the rare creatures, but moments like these are something you only get to capture once.”