Girafffe Whisperer Tall Order

"This is the most spoiled giraffe I’ve ever seen," said giraffe
specialist Vaughan Langman, while visiting one-ton Beau yesterday at
the Franklin Park Zoo. "I’ve never seen a giraffe with so much stuff
in my life."

Worried about the health of the 6-year-old Masai giraffe since he was
diagnosed with a wasting syndrome in September, Franklin Park Zoo officials
summoned Langman, known to some as the "giraffe whisperer." Langman,
a professor at Louisiana State University, spent the weekend at the zoo,
sharing with veterinarians and keepers his taming and handling techniques
honed in Africa.

"I got probably 25 years of catching, moving, holding, and treating," he
said. "What you’ve got there is not the average giraffe."

Langman advised moving Beau’s favorite food, forcing him to eat it inside
an enclosure, where he can be weighed and medicated. "He’s going
to kick and snarl, and so what? If he does the dying-giraffe routine," Langman
said, tilting his head to the side in imitation, "just bite his
tail and he’ll wake right up."

from the
Boston Glob