Giraffes Visit Family For Breakfast

Giraffe is a novel by the author J. M. Ledgard. The work concerns a true incident in which 49 giraffes were slaughtered in the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) in 1975 following the suspected outbreak of disease amongst the group. The novel contains extensive information about the species, including the long history of European fascination with the beast and its captivity in zoos.
Giraffes can be seen in paintings, including the famous painting of a giraffe which was taken from Somalia to China in 1414. The giraffe was placed in a Ming Dynasty zoo. At one point the giraffe was associated with the mythical Qilin, and a derivative of that name (kirin) is still used as the word for giraffe in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea.
Giraffes continue to have a presence in modern popular culture; most notably Toys "R" Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe. They also appear as miscellaneous characters in films like The Lion King and Dumbo. They have had more prominent roles with Melman from Madagascar and Longrack from the Transformers universe.