- The word "giraffe" comes from an Arabic word, "zirafah", which means "the tallest of all".
- The giraffe is the tallest of all mammals, with males attaining an overall height of 5.5 meters (18 feet) or more and the females slightly smaller attaining an overall height of 5 meters (16 feet).
- The scientific name of the giraffe is Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata ... which comes from the Romans. They thought the giraffe was the combining of two animals they were familiar with --the camel and the leopard-- but today we know the giraffe is a distinct species of mammal.
- There are many sub-species of giraffe but 3 types of giraffes are Rothschilds, Masai and Reticulated. Each type have a distinct coat pattern.
- The giraffe has a short torso in comparison to it's long legs and neck. Its torso slopes downward towards its hindquarters and tail.
- Surprisingly, the giraffe's neck contains the normal seven vertebrae as other mammals; however these vertebrae are greatly elongated. To compensate for the sudden increase in blood pressure when they lower their heads, giraffes have extremely elastic blood vessels and special valves in the veins of the neck to control the rush of blood to the head. Without this adaptation, the increase in blood pressure would cause the giraffe to faint.
- The tail is tufted, and there is a short mane on the neck.
- Two to four short, skin covered horns are present in both sexes and there is a central swelling, between the eyes, which in northern giraffes is almost as long as the horns. The males tend to have less hair on their horns than females ..... appears predominant balding of the male sex occurs in more mammals than just human males.
- The coat is beige, but covered with reddish-brown spots that range from regular and geometric to irregular and blotchy, or leaf-shaped. This spotting is unique to each individual giraffe and as distinct for identification as the human fingerprint.
- The giraffe is indigenous to Africa and lives in herds in Savannah and open bush country south of the Sahara Desert. The giraffe was one of the first animals to be transported from their natural habitat to zoos around the world.
- The female looks after the children and when there is large amount of babies, one female giraffe may look after all the young. Females give birth standing up and it's quite a drop to the ground, perhaps six (6) feet that the young baby takes as it enters the world, usually landing on it's head. *Ouch*
- The gestation period for the giraffe is 14-15 months, just less than twice that of human beings. Babies are already over six (6) feet in length and over 100 pounds when they are born.
- It feeds primarily on acacia leaves. They use their long 18 inch tongues to grasp leaves from the tops of the Acacia and Combretum trees -- with the male reaching for the higher leaves allowing the female the middle. Giraffes are so tall that they have no competition for this food source. Giraffes also eat flowers, vines and herbs. 15-20 hours a day is spent foraging consuming up to 140 lbs of vegetation per day. They are ruminants with a 4-chambered stomach, regurgitating and chewing a cud similar to cows. Giraffe tongues are pink or black.
- Giraffes consume many thorns and seem to prefer this food.
- Giraffes drink water if it is available but can go weeks without it. They also obtain water from the dew on the leaves they eat and the water contained in their food. A giraffe can consume up to 12 gallons of water at one time when drinking from a water hole.
- The giraffe runs at a speed of about 50 kilometers (30 miles) per hour when it reaches a full gallop, but tires easily.
- The giraffe is a very quiet animal and seldom has been heard to vocalize, although it does, hence it was thought that the giraffe was a voiceless animal.
- Giraffe's rest while they're standing, keeping one eye open and always on the alert for danger; however they do go into deep sleep for up to 15 minutes. In deep sleep they bend their neck backwards over their torso, placing their chins on the ground and resting their necks on their outstretched leg. Giraffes seldom sit on the ground as it is too awkward to rise and flee from predators. If a giraffe were to fall flat on its side, it would not be able to get up and would die.
- There is a ranking or hierarchy among giraffes. Males challenge each other by intertwining their long necks and wrestling occasionally knocking heads. They are aggressive, but seldom violent. Once a dominant male has been established, the herd lives very peacefully.
- Giraffes have a life expectancy of 20-25 years
|
