Imagine taking your morning coffee on the private deck of a villa while you watch a herd, or a tower, of giraffe enter the pasture and explore, learn, and play. Then imagine sharing an afternoon toast as they parade back into their night home. About 4 p.m., imagine observing a small bachelor herd of white rhinoceros enter the same pasture, where they will sleep. In between, imagine unprecedented contact with the animals under the guidance of an animal care specialist. That close, personal interaction is what guests can expect at Longneck Manor.
In the wild, the giraffe is the watchtower, seeing for miles from high above the savannah. You too can hang out with these towers in the Giraffe Suite, which is booked almost 365 nights a year. Guests view the animals eye to eye and nose to nose through spacious picture windows, while maintaining a separate climate control system from the giraffe barn. The San Antonio Zoo recently designed its overnight giraffe exhibit after Longneck’s.
“Giraffes don’t sleep much, so if people don’t sleep much, they’re up all night with the giraffes,” said Samantha Wells, director of animal care. She is part of the team that cares for these endangered animals and spreads the message of conservation to guests.
“We are a nonprofit, conservation foundation and our primary goal is raising awareness and funds for our animals’ wild counterparts. Our mission is to not only ensure these wild animals’ survival, but also their habitats and the local communities around them,” said Director Heather Crocker. “We use the for-profit side, the overnight stays and daily tours, to help offset our daily operations, allowing us to donate the maximum funds raised to our conservation partners in Africa. A portion of every tour ticket, overnight stay and retail item purchased goes directly to our conservation work, so guests are helping save animals just by being here.”
Overnight guests receive unparalleled time with the animals and their caregivers, like Wells.
“When you check in, we’ve got you for the whole entire stay. You’re assigned an animal care specialist for each day so you can really bond with that person, and they work with your group, however detailed you want to be,” Crocker said. “Do you want to get a couple of photos and then go grab some wine? Or do you want to scoop poop and learn all about the reproductive systems of the animals?”
Opened in 2021, Longneck Manor is the passion project of Roderick (Rick) Barongi, former director of the Houston Zoo. He chose the hill country because its climate is similar to the areas of Africa where these animals are found. Longneck Manor partners with 10 international conservation organizations — all of which Barongi knows well.
Overnight guests must be at least 12 years of age, but all ages are welcome on daily tours. And no pets or unregistered visitors are allowed. These restrictions help ensure a better experience not only for the people, but also for the animals. All interactions are in accordance with the animals’ freewill.
“They choose to participate. If they choose not to that day, that’s allowed. We want every human encounter they experience to be a good experience,” Crocker said.
Many overnight visitors have never heard of the Texas Hill Country.
“They don’t even know what Fredericksburg is. They’ll call and say, ‘Is there a grocery store nearby? Is there a place to eat?’” Crocker said. “We tell them, ‘You’re coming someplace wonderful.’”
Other visitors know the region and want what Crocker calls “wine and giraffes.” Some come because they know Borangi from conservation circles. For others this is a bucket list item.
“We’ve been part of two Make a Wish programs and four to five people with end-stage illnesses. We’ve had six or seven proposals, many anniversaries and birthdays,” Crocker said, adding that visitors often cry, overcome by the sheer impact of these magnificent creatures.
Because Longneck Manor keeps its numbers small, guests have incredible access to the animals.
“People walk away with a new feeling of awe,” said Monica Jinright, director of guest services. “Rhinos have to be mudded every day in the summer to avoid sunburn. You as a guest can help do that.”
Currently Longneck Manor has a tower of four giraffes and three rhinoceros. The manor is raising money for a separate rhino barn, and once the males reach maturity in a year or two, the plan is to introduce a female and let nature take its course. Eventually they hope to keep one male rhino and multiple females.
And more endangered species are coming, ones chosen specifically as ambassadors for their wild counterparts and as user-friendly breeds for the public.
“We will be adding okapi. It’s a large hoof stock animal,” Jinright said. “It looks like God took a bunch of parts and pieces of other animals and mashed them together.”
Crocker says they are also considering tapir.
“Picture really big show pigs with an ugly, long anteater snout,” she said.
Longneck does have a sloth, but since he’s still becoming socialized, he is only available to overnight guests, not public tours.
“Once we get him settled and trained, we’ll introduce a female for him. We’d love to have babies because we’d be adding to the number of species,” Crocker said. “All our breeding is organic and natural. We don’t do any insemination or IVF. If they don’t, they don’t.”
Longneck Manor has already welcomed one baby. In October giraffe Betty White gave birth to a female reticulated calf. Barongi was summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro at the time, so the baby was named Kili. Betty White is pregnant again, as is a giraffe named Tana, so sometime in the next several months the tower of giraffe will grow to six.
Not a lot is known about the physical growth and social behavior of giraffes, so Longneck Manor contributes to that knowledge base, documenting every aspect of their lives — what they weigh, how much they eat, their hoof care, how long their babies gestate, and when the calves lose their teeth.
“You can’t go to Google and ask, ‘Giraffe losing baby teeth — what does that look like?’” Wells said. “We had a giraffe vet come out, and we were asking her about giraffe teeth, and she’s like, ‘Document it. Take photos, take notes. There are still a lot of question marks with giraffe.’”
Wells and the other trainers work with the giraffes until they become comfortable going in and out of what is called a tamer, or a squeeze. It’s a place where they can receive medical treatment, be weighed and measured, and even receive an ultrasound. Right now, Wells is helping Kili get adjusted.
“We’ve worked hard to make this a comfortable, positive space for Kili, feeding her her favorite foods, spending positive time in there,” Wells said.
Longneck Manor’s public tours are offered daily at 2 p.m., and on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 10 a.m. (Reservations required.) All tours begin at the new Karibu Welcome Center. A minimum of two staff members are assigned to each group, and they visit four encounter areas, each designed to provide enrichment activities. Some enrichments strengthen the animals’ bodies, and some strengthen their minds.
“We change the color of the balls [with food inside], the placement of the balls. They’re looking for food — ‘Is it high? Is it low? Do I have to dig it out?’” Crocker said. “We give them the maximum amount of stimulation, using their natural instincts.”
One activity both the giraffes and rhinos enjoy is painting, and their artwork (with animal artist photo) can be purchased in the gift shop. The shop also carries baskets handmade by Hadithi women artisans from Kenya, as well as Fahlo bracelets, which track a specific wild giraffe in cooperation with the Somali Giraffe Project.
As Longneck Manor grows it hopes to add an education area to host seminars and conferences. In the meantime, small events can be held on the deck and patio of the welcome center —gatherings even the rhinos and giraffes can attend.
Videos of the animals and their caregivers can be viewed at Longneck Manor’s YouTube channel. Make reservations at longneckmanor.com.