Zarafa (Giraffe) Profile,News,Photos

zarafa (Giraffe)

Zarafa  ( 12 January 1845) was a female Giraffe  who lived in the Jardin des Plantes in paris for 18 years. A gift from Mohammad ali of Egypt to King Charles X of France, she was one of three giraffes Muhammad Ali sent to European rulers in 1827. These were the first giraffes to be seen in Europe for over three centuries, since the Medici giraffe was sent to Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence in 1486.

According to Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, she was called The Beautiful Animal of the King (le bel animal du roi) during her trip from Marseille to Paris. A 1998 book written by American author Michael Allin (Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story, from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris) and a 2012 French animation film both refer to her as Zarafa, which is the Arabic for "Giraffe". Another Arabic word with a similar pronunciation, meaning "charming" or "lovely one" was mentioned by Allin as a possible etymology, but this is ruled out as both words are spelled with different Arabic letters.

Muhammad Ali Pasha also sent two other giraffes as gifts in 1827, one to George IV of the United Kingdom in London and the other to Francis I of Austria in Vienna. Like the giraffe sent to France, both inspired giraffe crazes in their respective cities. The Austrian giraffe joined the Emperor's menagerie at Schönbrunn Palacem but survived for less than one year. Nevertheless, it lived on in the form of "Giraffeln" pastries, served until the beginning of the First World War. 

 Zarafa

 Zarafa