Interesting facts about giraffes

Did you know?

THE giraffe is an African even-toed ungulates and the world’s tallest living terrestrial animal. Some other even-toed ungulates include hippopotamuses, deer, goats, camels, cattle, antelopes and sheep.  New-born giraffes stand at around 1,8m tall, making them taller than most adult humans.

● Although giraffes are very tall, they don’t sleep much. Most of them get around 10 minutes to two hours of sleep per day.

● Even when they get the little amount of sleep required each day, they don’t lie down. Giraffes go to sleep standing up most of the time.

● They are also able to give birth while standing up, meaning that these creatures rarely have an excuse to lie down!

Within just 10 hours of their birth, baby giraffes can run with their families without struggling.

The patterns on a giraffe are totally unique — no two giraffes are ever the same!

● Giraffes used to be known as ‘camel leopards’, due to their tall structure and leopard-like pattern. The scientific name today has not changed — Camelopardalis.

● The name was given to these creatures by Julius Caesar, who received a giraffe as a gift and was thrilled with it! After showing it off to the people of Rome, he ended up feeding it to the lions.

● Their tongues can be as long as 45cm, allowing them to get their lunch from very tall trees!

● Between their pregnancies, female giraffes only have a two-week window in which to get pregnant.

● Giraffes conserve water very well, mainly because they don’t sweat or pant when hot. Adult giraffes only need to find water once a day.

● They can run up to speeds of 56km per hour, outrunning most horses.

● Their long legs mean that they can cover plenty of space in a short amount of time, making their average walking speed around 16km per hour.

● A giraffe’s sharp 30 hooves can cause a lot of damage, and could even kill a lion if necessary.

● The Giraffe Dance has been popular in Africa since the 1950’s, supposedly curing and bringing strength to people. The dance consists of women sitting down while men dance around them in a circle.

● When giraffes are seen rubbing their necks against one another, they are competing to see who is stronger. Known as “necking”, it is a practice between male giraffes.

● A giraffe’s tongue is blue-back to protect it from sunburn in hot climates.

● Famous toy manufacturer, Toys ‘R’ Us, chose a cartoon giraffe as their mascot in the 1950’s. His name was Geoffrey the Giraffe, but he was first known as Dr G Raffe.

● Ever wondered what sound a giraffe makes? These animals often snort and hiss, but can also make very low sounds which are impossible for humans to hear.

Giraffes are able to drink up to 37 litres of water each day, and also get water from the plants they eat, including acacias. ● A giraffe’s heart weighs around 11kg, compared to a human heart which weighs between 0,2-0,45kg.

● Of all land mammals, the giraffe boasts the longest tail. Adult giraffes can have tails up to 2,4 long.

● When females need to go and hunt food, one of them will stay behind and babysit the young giraffes.

● Oxpeckers are birds which feed off parasites on giraffes’ bodies. This winwin situation for both creatures ensures that the birds find food and that the giraffes get rid of unwanted parasites.

● Baby giraffes play together in a crèche for the first five months of their lives. Their mothers will usually be out hunting food.

● A giraffe can move at only two speeds — walk and gallop.

● Even though a giraffe has a longer neck than all other mammals, it still only has seven vertebrae in its neck, which is the same amount as other animals.

● Giraffes have amazing eyesight, which means that they can wander away from one another but find their way back very easily.

● Male giraffes and female giraffes eat from different parts of the same tree. This is to prevent competition between the males and females.