MM's World: Girafrica

Monster: Girafrica
Kaiju Number: 48

Height: 220 meters
Length: 140 meters
Mass: 150,000 tons

Year of First Appearance: 2016
Origin: Africa
Alignments: Earth Kaiju

Running Speed: 250 MPH

Powers & Abilities:
- Ground Pound: By rearing up on his hind legs and then coming crashing down, Girafrica is capable of literally making the ground shudder under his weight. The tremors generated by this immense slam can sometimes measure a 5.5 earthquake on the Richter scale.

Weaknesses: None

Threat Level: Moderate – Girafrica is a very large kaiju and he knows it. While he isn’t naturally aggressive, he also doesn’t back down from challenges. In his quests for food in the wild, he has come across human civilization more than once, and like most monsters, he will trek across populated areas opposed to going around, often putting thousands of lives at risk in the process.
Intelligence: Being a basic animal, Girafrica is a primal kaiju. He generally only reacts violently when provoked or startled, but does know when humans (or other kaiju even) pose a threat and when they don’t. In order to better chance his own survival, Girafrica is almost always found on Genesis Island with other wandering herbivore kaiju, such as Ankylotherium.
Diet: Being a mutant giraffe, it came as no surprise that the monster feeds exclusively on vegetation. He has a particular taste for Savannah grass and shrubs, able to clear over a mile of it in just one afternoon.

History: The Kaiju Reservation was once a large area of land located in Africa where almost all of Earth’s kaiju, at the time, had been captured and placed in a sort of captivity. After the Klenthurian war, operation Genesis Island saw the completion of a much larger area and the kaiju were all relocated. However, kaijuologists were totally unaware of the dangerous affects Scorpadon’s cells could have on organisms. While percentage rates were one in a million (if not more), his cells could mutate creatures that ingested his cells into fearsome beasts!

And that’s exactly what happened overtime.

The arachnid’s cells had polluted the landscape for so long that it was absorbed by the vegetation. When animals returned to the once restricted area, many died from exposure. However, as years progressed, all returned to normal. But lurking in the vastness of the land, a freak had been created by the mutagenic cells. It went unnoticed for several years, growing in size until it towered over its brethren: a monstrous giraffe!

At the same time, a man by the name of Patrick Pyatt was bringing Henz, Inc. to its former glory. Determined to bring the company back from its descent into darkness after his uncle, Jonathan Henz, had taken Heavyclaws on a vengeance mission that lead to his death, Pyatt was looking to make the corporation into an anti-kaiju force to be reckoned with. Hiring a group of poachers, he hoped to collect cells of the kaiju that once existed there.

The armed men shot many animals, but not for their hides or ivory, but for their blood! However, on their fourth night, they stumbled across something else. The ground began to shake and the silhouette of something truly gigantic rose up. The men instantly open fired, but their puny guns had no affect on the long necked kaiju. Rearing up on its hind legs, the mutant giraffe came down! Their vehicle bounced into the air and came down, crushing all but one of the men. Trapped underneath the wreckage of the jeep, the man was trapped for over a day before a small patrol finally found him.

In custody, the man was in a state of shock. He refused to talk, eat, or drink. As investigators combed the wreckage, they found enormous sets of footprints nearby. When this was announced, it didn’t take the A.K.D.F. long to arrive. The forces began to dig into the man’s background, realizing he was more than just some common poacher. Alan Saw quickly recognized him as one of the world’s leading hunters, a man by the name of Alex Richardson. The Australian was in the hospital for more than a week before he finally came around. While the forces looked high and low through the vastness that was the African savannah, Alan Saw spoke to the hunter one-on-one.

Alex admitted to be hired by Henz, but only knew that the company was after blood of animals. They weren’t killing anything they shot, instead they were merely using tranquilizer guns. He told Alan of the gigantic giraffe-like kaiju that came out of the darkness. At the same time, teams searching for the beast found entire miles worth of land void of vegetation, and finally, a small village that had been completely trampled. Knowing they were now on the right track, the forces focused their search until, at last, they spotted the enormous mutation!

Girafrica, as it was now being called by the media, was heading for the coastline where numerous villages resided. To protect the innocent lives of the locals, both Plague and Swamp were unleashed. The two fell from the Super Transport Deluxe, directly in the path of the wandering behemoth! Upon spotting the humanoid kaiju, Girafrica paused and went to move around, but Plague quickly leaped in front of it again. Boxed in, the enormous herbivore reared up on its hind legs and came down, generating a powerful tremor! Taken off guard, both guardians fell to the side and Girafrica stampeded past them! Jumping to his feet, Swamp took chase and quickly caught up. He sprung onto the charging mammal’s back and wrapped his arms around the base of the neck in an attempt to slow it. With the strength of the frog pulling its neck, Girafrica began to turn before falling onto its side with a tremendous, echoing thud!

Kicking up a storm, one of Girafrica’s large, hoofed feet slammed into the amphibian’s gut, sending the hero flying back as if a rocket. Quickly, the bulky kaiju was back on its feet, but Plague leaped onto its side, claws and teeth bared! The giraffe screamed in agony as the knife-like claws of the rat tore into its fur, spilling crimson blood onto the landscape. Galloping as fast as it could, the giraffe trucked forward with the rat still clung to its body until the violent speed and bucking of the beast caused the guardian to slip and let go. He rolled to the side, screeching before coming to as kidding stop. Turning around, Girafrica eyed both man-made monsters and charged, eyeing to crush both smaller beasts under hoofed feet.

Plague and Swamp barely dived out of the way in time, but Plague launched a new assault as it passed. Leaping up, he clamped his razor-like incisors into the tip of the furry tail! The mountain of flesh screamed again and began to buck, but Plague was determined to infect the beast as much as possible. However, after nearly thirty seconds of holding on, Girafrica leaned forward and lashed out with both hind legs! With a tremendous, donkey-like kick, Girafrica forced Plague to release. The rat screamed in pain as the blow sent him flying, head over heels, with something broken on the inside. He hit the ground with a groan, blood seeping from the corners of his elongated snout. Trying to recover, Plague screamed in pain. He was out of the battle.

Turning to face the wounded rat, Girafrica began to dig trenches into the dirt. Fortunately for the fallen hero, just before the rampaging behemoth could charge, Swamp leaped onto the side of its neck! The amphibian began to clobber the giant’s head with brick-like fists, causing the giraffe to whip its neck from side to side. Unable to keep hold, Swamp released and jumped away. He landed on his feet with a thunderous croak, but Girafrica was on him! The creature used its long neck as a weapon, bludgeoning Swamp left and right with headbutts and bat-like swings. Swamp fell to the side, eyes rolling from the thunderous blows…

As the amphibian rested on his back, Girafrica took numerous steps back. The beast bellowed loudly and reared up on its hind legs, aiming to crush the hero with one mighty blow!

But then its entire left side erupted into a storm of fire! Missiles and gunfire detonated across its form, sending it falling to its side in a hellish sea. Beams of energy burnt through layers of flesh and fur before a silvery object landed on the other side. The rebuilt Heavyclaws pointed its mighty claws at the fallen giant. Gigantic Vulcan guns emerged from the claws and began to rip into the kaiju with ferocity. Chunks of flesh flew through the air as the monster thrashed, unable to stand up under such an assault. After numerous seconds, the guns whirred to a stop…

Girafrica’s sides were bloody messes, but still the giant tried to stand. When he did, Plague’s disease finally kicked in. The monstrous giraffe fell back down, eyes closed and breathing raspy. The enormous kaiju was down for the count! As Swamp crawled to his feet, the returning Heavyclaws launched into the air, flying up into the clouds. Despite the mysterious return of the Henz mech, Girafrica was rounded up as normal and taken to Genesis Island where its wounds healed overtime.

Taking up residence on the vast grasslands, the giraffe made a sort of bond with the herbivore Ankylotherium, often grazing together and watching for trouble. Future studying on the beast’s blood would reveal the culprit of its creation, Scorpadon, and hopefully prevent such a thing from happening again.

Comments by MM: In August of 2010, I took a family vacation down to Disney World where we stayed at the Animal Kingdom resort. Just outside our room was a zoo-like enclosure with numerous animals, including giraffes. When I saw one of them bat its neck at another animal, the ball in my head began to roll. For the longest time, I also wanted a sauropod dinosaur kaiju but could never think of a truly original one. Thus, taking elements from both giraffes and dinosaurs such as brachiosaurus, I came up with Girafrica. The name is a fusion of giraffe and Africa and, frankly, I think it rolls off the tongue rather easily.

Girafrica can also be looked at as the first monster to appear during World War K as the return of Heavyclaws successfully starts off the series. Despite being relatively new, I decided to revisit the monster and change the design a bit. I added a lot more bulk to the design to emphasize its great weight and power. I also elongated the tail, feeling the original stubby one didn’t look right. The new build takes a bit more from sauropods, but I feel it looks better. I also got rid of the tiny horn on the nose. The spots also changed and are no longer just squares. You can still see the original design here: [link] .