- Their heart is 2 feet long and weighs about 25 pounds
- They have the highest known blood pressure of any mammal in the world – up to 280/180mm Hg when prone at heart level (approximately twice that of an average human)
- Their heart beats up to 170 times/minute
- Jugular vein contains a series of one way valves that prevent the back flow of blood when the Giraffes head is down to drink water. This prevents the Giraffe from blacking out.
- The heart pumps about 16 gallons of blood/minute
- Oxpeckers(tick birds) are often seen "hitching" a ride on the backs of Giraffes. They help keep the Giraffe parasite free by eating ticks and other parasites off of the Giraffes skin.
- Extreme care must be taken when scientists catch Giraffes for study or for capture for a zoo exhibit. If the Scientists run the Giraffe too long, the Giraffe will suffer a heart attack due to its high blood pressure. Scientists typically target younger Giraffes for this reason.
- Mom Giraffes form a type of daycare for their young. One of the females in the heard will stay behind and baby sits all of the youngsters while the rest of the females go out foraging for food.
- Despite its extreme length, the Giraffes neck is actually too short to reach the ground. As a result, it has to awkwardly spread its front legs or kneel on its front legs in order to reach the ground to drink water.
- It is the tallest animal in the world
- Males stand 16-18 feet; Females 14-16 feet
- Males weigh up to 2,000 pounds; Females a bit lighter
- Females use their hooves as weapons only to defend their young.
- They are strong enough to kill a lion, which is the Giraffe's only real predator.
- Born with horns
- Both males and females have them.
- Covered with skin
- Males are thicker and heavier and are used sometimes to fight other males.
- Only found naturally in Africa
- Their tongue is black
- Can gallop 31-37 miles per hour
- Form herds and travel together for protection
- Their average territorial range is approximately 46 square miles
- Males known as bulls
- Females known as cows
- Can rest standing up
- Usually only sleep 5 minutes at a time
- When sleeping, the giraffe generally lies on the ground, tucking its front legs under itself, then curls its neck back and rests its head on its rump.
- Females have their first conception in their fifth year.
- Gestation period is 15 months
- Interval between births is generally 20 months
- Life expectancy of 25 years in the wild
- A baby is generally 6 feet tall and will weigh about 150 pounds at birth
- A baby will fall approximately 6 feet during birth before hitting the ground
- A baby will begin nursing within one hour
- A baby will generally also begin walking within one hour
- They spend between 16 and 20 hours a day feeding
Physical Description: Giraffes' long limbs, necks, and tongues enable them to reach vegetation in the trees—well above where other browsers can reach. Nine subspecies, differing in coat pattern and number of horns, live in different parts of Africa. Rothschild's giraffes (G. c. rothschildi) are exhibited at the Zoo. Giraffes' distinctive orangish, rusty, or blackish coats are broken into patchworks by whitish outlines. All-whitish giraffes are a rare find.
Size: Males stand up to 18 feet tall and weigh up to 4,200 pounds; females grow to 16 feet tall and weigh up to 2,500 pounds.
Geographic Distribution: Giraffes inhabit many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, but are now most widespread in East Africa and the northern parts of southern Africa, where they find refuge in national parks.
Status: Although listed as low risk on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Animals, several giraffe subspecies are rare, including the Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum) of Sudan and the Nigerian giraffe (G. c. peralta), which is now found only in Chad and is extinct in its namesake Nigeria.
Habitat: Giraffes live in open habitats, primarily wooded savannas and open woodlands. Riparian forests (those growing along watercourses) are especially important to giraffes living in arid areas. Giraffes do not live in areas dominated by moist tropical forest.
Natural Diet: Giraffes eat the leaves of a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. Acacia species are among their favorites. An adult giraffe may consume up to 140 pounds of foliage a day.
Reproduction: Giraffes breed throughout the year. Males go from female herd to female herd seeking prospective mates. They zero in on females in heat, often feeding beside them and occasionally tangling necks. Fourteen to 15 months after mating takes place, females give birth to a single calf (rarely two). During their first few weeks, calves stay close to their mothers; soon after, they join a group of young called a creche.
Life Span: Giraffes live up to 25 years in the wild and often longer at zoos.
Behavior: Female giraffes travel in loosely structured herds, as do young males. However, older males are usually solitary, spending their days seeking female herds containing prospective mates. Males sometimes fight, using their up-to-25-pound heads, nine-inch horns, and strong necks. (These battles rarely result in injury.) Females protect their young by kicking at predators with their dinner-plate-sized hooves. First-year calves join creches, which are often left unattended by adults. Ever watchful for predators, giraffes sleep only about a half-hour a day, and this time is usually broken up into about six, five-minute naps.
Past/Present/Future: For about as long as people have been able to hunt large animals, they have sought giraffes as prey. Although people still hunt giraffes, habitat destruction is the greatest threat to them and many of Africa's other large animals. Hunting and habitat loss have driven giraffes to extinction in a number of countries, including Mauritania, Senegal, and possibly Mozambique and Mali. When farms abut giraffe habitat, the animals often raid crops. Some farmers shoot them. However, many cattle ranchers don't mind these high-level browsers, which do not compete with their livestock for food. The future of giraffes and Africa's other famed plains animals lies in careful conservation of extensive habitats, both on park and private lands.
A Few Giraffe Neighbors:
lion (Panthera leo): About half of young giraffes fall to these great cats, hyenas, or other predators within their first year.
Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus): Growing ten feet or longer, this stealthy reptile ambushes large animals—including giraffes—when they settle down to drink.
lappet-faced vulture (Aegypius tracheliotus): The largest and strongest of six vulture species that commonly scout African plains for lion kills and other large animal carcasses.
By saving giraffe habitat, we protect these and many other animals.
Facts:
Ancient Romans called giraffes "camelopards," describing them as hybrid animals with camel bodies and leopard spots. The giraffe's species name, camelopardalis, includes this name.
giraffes neckingMale giraffes sometimes spar by swinging their heads at one another (pictured at left). This behavior, which can entwine their necks, is called "necking."
Baby giraffes are born six feet tall, taller than the average person. They can grow an inch a day and just about double their height in one year.
Thanks in part to moisture-rich foods such as acacia leaves, giraffes can go weeks without drinking. They usually seek water every few days, lowering themselves in a splay-legged drinking stance that leaves them vulnerable to predators. |
