Interesting facts about giraffes

GIRAFFES live primarily in savanna areas in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. Their extreme height allows them to eat leaves and shoots located much higher than other animals can reach. In particular, they seek out acacia trees. Their long tongues are helpful in eating because they help pull leaves from the trees. Spending most of the day eating, a full-grown giraffe consumes over 45kg of leaves and twigs a day.

Well known for their long necks, these gentle giants are the world’s tallest living land animals. An adult male can grow to around 5,5m — that’s taller than three adult humans!

A giraffe’s height is helpful for keeping a look out for predators, such as lions and hyenas. Their excellent eyesight allows them to spot hungry beasts from far away, too.

Herbivores, giraffes only eat plants. Their favourite grub is the acacia tree, and they use their long necks to reach the leaves and buds in the treetops. Their long tongues (which grow to a whopping 53cm) also help them pull down leaves growing way up high.

And boy do these guys have an appetite! They spend most of their time eating, and can guzzle up to 45kg of leaves and twigs a day!

Whilst they may eat a lot, giraffes don’t drink much water. This is because they get most of their water from their leafy meals and only need to drink once every few days.

Giraffes are very social animals and roam around in groups. These groups, called towers, typically have around 15 members led by an adult male. The other members are females and young males.

To see who is stronger, males (called bulls) fight by butting their long necks and heads. This is known as “necking”. These fights aren’t usually dangerous, and end when one bull admits defeat and walks away.

Female giraffes can become pregnant at five years old. They carry a baby for 15 months and give birth while standing up. Newborns are about 2m tall and weigh 70kg

Newborns are welcomed to the world with a 1,5m drop to the ground! Ouch! But these infants are quick to get on their feet — within 30 minutes they are standing, and only hours later they are able to run with their mothers.

In the wild these beautiful creatures live for around 25 years. In captivity they live longer, and have been known to reach 40 years old.

The male giraffe is both taller and heavier than the female. Both sexes have skin-covered knobs, called ossicones, on the top of their heads. Female ossicones are smaller and have a small tuft of fur on top, while male ossicones are bald on the top. These knobs are used to protect the head when males fight, which involves swinging their necks at each other in a show of strength called “necking.”

When giraffes walk, they move both legs on one side of their body and then both legs on the other side, which is unusual. However, they run in a similar style to other mammals, swinging their rear legs and front legs in unison. They can reach 55 km/h at full speed, but only in brief spurts.

Giraffes sleep less than two hours a day. In general, they sleep with their feet tucked under them and their head resting on their hindquarters, but they can also sleep for short periods of time standing up. —