Originally published Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Comments (25)
E-mail article
Print view
Share
Couple raising giraffe in Spokane County
John and Jane Schreiner have a new pet, a month-old giraffe they are raising at their Spokane County home.
SPOKANE — John and Jane Schreiner have a new pet, a month-old giraffe they are raising at their Spokane County home.
Karson enjoys drinking milk and loves to scamper across the grass on the 13-acre spread he shares with five wallaroos and two kangaroos.
"He may be the only giraffe ever to be raised as a pet in Spokane," John Schreiner told The Spokesman-Review.
Last week, the couple drove across the country, paying "a large, large sum" for the giraffe, which was born at the Natural Bridge Zoo near Roanoke, Va. On Friday, they brought Karson home after a four-day return trip.
In about four months, they plan to move Karson to the 12,000-acre Schreiner Farms ranch in Klickitat County. There, the Schreiners have a menagerie that includes zebras, bison, camels and three adult giraffes.
The Schreiners breed and sell the animals. The biggest sellers to date have been wallaroos, a gentle mammal halfway in size between a wallaby and a kangaroo.
Karson's job will be to breed with the female offspring of Bob, the Schreiners' adult male giraffe.
John and his brother Joe, who co-owns the ranch, have been successful title insurance operators, with two offices in Oregon and 13 in Washington.
Animal breeders say there are fewer than 350 giraffes in zoos and in private possession in the United States. John Schreiner estimates there are fewer than 20 giraffe breeders in the nation.
Karson can expect a life span of up to 30 years. He belongs to the reticulated giraffe subspecies native to Somalia, in eastern Africa.
As far as the Schreiners know, Spokane County has no ordinance stopping them from keeping Karson.
"He's not a carnivore, which is the one concern the county and states are right to control people from raising," said John Schreiner. Giraffes are ruminants, eating leaves and grain, he said.
"I can't see any reason we can't keep him. He's intelligent, gentle and a wonderful creature," he said.
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 11:25 AM
Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
Danny Westneat: Lee the Horse Logger found slow wagon shrank tumor
Parents want answers on new Seattle school boundaries
3 Cascade Mountain passes close due to snow; more rain, wind expected Sunday

Mourners gather at KeyArena for slain officer's memorial
Mourners gathered at KeyArena for the memorial service of Seattle police Officer Timothy Brenton on November 6, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Flags were key link to cop slaying, bombings
- Suspect shot as city mourns slain officer
- Briefs | Soccer: New Mexico suspends hair-pulling player Elizabeth Lambert
- Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
- Huskies suffer another heartbreaking loss to UCLA
- McGinn pulling away as late ballots come in
- Using anti-shooter tactics, civilian Army police officer brought down gunman
- How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
- 3 Cascade Mountain passes close due to snow; more rain, wind expected Sunday
- Heavy snow in Cascades shuts down roads
- UCLA game thread
940 - Weapons, bomb-making materials found in suspect's apartment
336 - U.S. House passes health plan
252 - Decision day for health care in the House
201 - Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
177 - Referendum 71 show's Washington's strategy for marriage equality is working
105 - Huskies suffer another heartbreaking loss to UCLA
103 - Grading the game
98 - How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
67 - Fort Hood shooting suspect had shown troubling signs
43
- Suspect shot as city mourns slain officer
- Flags were key link to cop slaying, bombings
- 10 ways to take control of your health
- The birth of 'Grunge,' in photos by Michael Lavine
- How do innovators think?
- Danny Westneat | Lee the Horse Logger found slow wagon shrank tumor
- 10 investing missteps to avoid
- Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
- Guest columnist | Cut the South Carolina jokes, Seattle. Get ready to compete
- Consortium on verge of owning Eastside railway land









