This giraffe’s coloring was darker and more saturated than all the others in the most delightful way, and I wondered if perhaps it was a different species or something?

But our guide said no, the giraffe was just old. The spots on their skin get darker with age, and this was an elderly giraffe.

Oh. It’s the same with humans, I thought. The spots on our skin get darker with age, too. Then I got really depressed and basically looked at a mole/spot on my arm for the rest of the day.

It was definitely darker than I remembered it being. It’s getting darker, isn’t it? Maybe even bigger, like it’s spreading a bit? Ever since I turned 40, things on my body are getting darker and bigger, I just know it.

And what am I doing with my life? When there’s so little time left, why am I out here by myself, in Africa, photographing animals when I should really be spending more time with my darkly spotted mother and father? I should call them.

But then again, it was hard to tell what was really happening on my arm, because every inch of my exposed skin was covered in a THICK LAYER OF RED DIRT.

So… it could just be that.

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Addendum:

Once we left the savanna and I was able to take a proper shower (with water that was more than just a freezing cold trickle), the spot my arm fell off and washed down the drain. It turns out, it was just a clump of dried mud that had become entangled in my unbelievably thick pelt of blonde arm hair.

Oh my god, am I getting hairier? Ever since I turned 40, is the hair on my body suddenly growing at an alarmingly rapid rate? It is, isn’t it.

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On the flip side, this young giraffe seems to be looking up his good friend's butthole (which you can read more about HERE), but now I'm conflicted about what age of giraffe I'd prefer to be. All choices seem dim.

Here's another photo of a giraffe from Madikwe, I'm just sticking it here because I don't know where else to put it. It's good, but just like, stock photo level good.