Anne de Paula Explains Her Encounter With a Giraffe in Kenya

For her third SI Swimsuit Issue appearance, Anne de Paula traveled to Kenya. There the Brazilian native found herself in a vulnerable place, posing in the midst of the Naboisho Conservancy in an active animal reserve. She found herself confronted with fears of being charged by a nearby herd of giraffes.

“I made sure to ask, ‘How fast are the giraffes? Are the giraffes fast? Can I run faster than the giraffe?’” she said. “We looked it up and a giraffe can actually run up to 37 miles per hour. That’s fast.”

Anne de Paula was photographed by Yu Tsai in Kenya.

One giraffe was peacefully laying down when de Paula started posing. Noticing the model nearby, the animal started to stand. Topless and with only her bikini bottoms on, she naturally began to shuffle. “Pose! Pose Pose!” photographer Yu Tsai said.

“I had no top on in front of the giraffe. It stood up and I’m like, Do I look back? Am I fine?” de Paula reflected after the shoot. Thankfully, everyone (giraffe included) contributed to some seriously epic photographs. (The model was also photographed with a lion during her time on the reserve.)

The model, who shares 2-year-old son Arthur with her boyfriend, NBA all-star Joel Embiid, also took part in SI Swimsuit shoots in Anguilla (2017), Nevis (2018) and the Dominican Republic (2020).