{"id":2379,"date":"2025-08-12T21:46:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T21:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/?p=2379"},"modified":"2025-08-12T21:46:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T21:46:17","slug":"giraffe-touches-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/giraffe-touches-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"Unforgettable 40th Anniversary: Giraffe Touches the Internet \ud83d\ude0a\ud83d\udc3e"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>A Special Discovery in the Heart of Africa: How a Giraffe Moved the Online World<\/b><\/p>\n<p>For many couples, celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary is a reason for a dream trip, whether on a luxury cruise ship or a beach in the Caribbean. But Marius and Michelle Nortje, a South African couple, had a completely different plan: they celebrated this special day in the wilderness of Kruger National Park.<\/p>\n<p><strong>## An Unforgettable Moment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Nortjes share a long story together, and during their recent trip in December, they experienced an unforgettable moment that brought them even closer. &#8222;We visit the Kruger NP at least once a year, sometimes up to four times,&#8220; Marius shared in an interview. Little did he know that this trip would gift them a very special encounter.<\/p>\n<p>While driving through the park, they suddenly saw three giraffes step out of the bushes. Marius, an experienced wildlife photographer, stared in amazement at one giraffe, which had many prominent growths on its body. &#8222;We were just looking for lions because we couldn\u2019t find them on the road,&#8220; he recalled that fateful moment.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DEfGJWptIHB\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">See this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DEfGJWptIHB\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Worldwide Vets (@worldwidevets)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The couple didn\u2019t hesitate and grabbed their camera to photograph the giraffe. Shortly after, Marius posted the pictures on Facebook\u2014and the internet was instantly captivated but also worried. People quickly asked if the giraffe was in pain. However, Marius noticed that she was calmly feeding and continued living as if everything was normal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Continued on the next page&#8230;<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>## A Special Diagnosis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The excitement about the giraffe grew when an international animal welfare team, WorldWide Vets, noticed the pictures. Dr. Gemna Campling, the founder and director of the organization, explained that the giraffe suffers from a condition caused by the Bovine Papillomavirus. This type of virus can infect various animal species, and to many people\u2019s surprise, the disease is not lethal\u2014but the giraffe does suffer.<\/p>\n<p>According to Dr. Campling, transmission occurs through direct contact, which in this case could mean that oxpecker birds, which settle on the giraffe, serve themselves from their parasitic companions and transfer the virus from one animal to another.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that symptoms often disappear on their own: &#8222;This strain of papillomavirus can heal by itself, and the animal could fully recover,&#8220; the expert explained. Additionally, the virus is not contagious to humans, which is reassuring when thinking of the parallels between humans and animals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>## A Touching Message<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The frightening growths on the giraffe\u2019s body are disturbing to see, and although they are not deadly, one can imagine they cause the giraffe discomfort. Marius and Michelle had an emotional moment during their trip that reminded them how important it is to protect our wildlife. Their experience not only shows how strong and resilient these animals are but also how vulnerable they live in the wild.<\/p>\n<p>How often do we need to pause and sharpen our view for what really matters? Often, it is the small things that open our eyes and teach us how important our planet and its inhabitants are. For Marius and Michelle, this stay was another confirmation of their passion for nature and the exciting moments they are privileged to experience in the wild. Who knows what adventure awaits them next?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Special Discovery in the Heart of Africa: How a Giraffe Moved the Online World For many couples, celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary is a reason for a dream trip, whether on a luxury cruise ship or a beach in the Caribbean. But Marius and Michelle Nortje, a South African couple, had a completely different&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animals","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2379"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2382,"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379\/revisions\/2382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viral7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}