GIRAFFES
Mammal     -     Vertebrate     -     Herbivore
Male:  Bull, Sire
Female:  Cow
Young:  Calf
​GIRAFFE
  • The Okapi is the closest living relative to the giraffe.
  • Are the tallest mammals in the world.
  • Have the same number of bones in their necks (7) as most other mammals, including humans - seven!
  • Their age can be calculated by the number of spots - the darker the spots, the older the giraffe.
  • Have blue/ black tongues which can grow up to 20 inches long.
  • Are born with horns.
  • Eat leaves and twigs of the thorny Acacia tree.
  • Can go without water for longer than a camel, mainly because the leaves of the Acacia tree contain a lot of water.
  • Drinking is one of the most dangerous time for being attacked.
  • Can drink about 12 gallons of water at one visit to a waterhole.
  • Can last longer than camels without water - as can rats.
  • Has excellent eyesight.
  • Can lick inside its own ears.
  • Communicates by vibrating the air around its neck, specifically by emiting very low-frequency noise (humming).
  • They can hum and when they sense danger, they snort.  
  • Tongues are blue-black in colour (to protect them from sunburn).
  • Both male and females have horns - the females' are smaller.
  • Each mark on a giraffe is unique to it.
  • Rarely lie down - they even sleep standing up and give birth standing up.
  • Sleep only about 2 hours a day.
  • When ready to give birth, a female giraffe may return to the place where she was born to have her baby.
  • Newborn giraffe have to fall about 6ft to the ground..
  • Can clean their ears with their very long tongue.
  • Lives for about 10-15 years, or up to 20+ in captivity.
  • Are used by other animals as observation post for predators.
  • Are extremely gentle animals.
  • Are the only animal born with horns.
  • The heart of the giraffe pumps 160 gallons of blood a minute.
  • Can't swim.
  • Sleep for only about 20 minutes a day.

There is only one species of giraffe, but there are multiple subspecies:
  1. The Masai Giraffe - South Kenya and Tanzania.
  2. The West African Giraffe - West Africa  ..... only about 160 individuals left.
  3. The Rothschild Giraffe - Kenya and Uganda ... down to the last few hundred.
  4. The Reticulated Giraffe (also known as the Somali Giraffe) - Somalia, North Kenya and South Ethiopia.
  5. The Kordofan Giraffe - North Cameroon, South Chad, Central African Republic and (possibly) West Sudan.
  6. The Thornicroft Giraffe (also known as the Rhodesian Giraffe) - Luangwa Valley in East Zambia.
  7. The South African Giraffe - South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
  8. The Angolan Giraffe (also called the Smoky Giraffe) - South Angola, North Namibia, South West Zambia, Botswana and West Zimbabwe.
  9. The Nubian Giraffe - East Sudan and North East Congo.
Picture
ROTHSCHILD GIRAFFE