Bulls weigh up to 1,930 kg, while cows can weigh up to 1,180 kg. Female giraffes (cows) are 0.7 to 1 m shorter than bulls. Male giraffes (bulls) stand a total of 5.7 m from the ground to their horns: 3.3 m at the shoulders with a long neck of 2.4 m. Giraffa camelopardalis is the world’s tallest mammal. Male giraffes can venture into denser wooded areas in search of more foliage. Because they only occasionally drink, giraffes can be found away from a water source. Giraffes are found in savannas, grasslands, or open woodlands. They seek out areas enriched with Acacia growth. ( "Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia", 2003) They have been reintroduced in South Africa to game reserves. Giraffes have disappeared from most of western Africa, except a residual population in Niger. The Oregon Zoo's giraffes live in the Africa Savanna habitat.Giraffa camelopardalis is native to Africa, mainly found south of the Sahara to eastern Transvaal, Natal, and northern Botswana. Giraffes as a whole are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but the zoo's two subspecies of giraffes – reticulated and Masai – are listed as endangered. This is due to habitat loss, disease transmitted by livestock, civil war and unrest, and poaching. Scientists estimate that over the past two decades, giraffe numbers have dropped across Africa by about 40%. Giraffes live an average of 10-15 years in the wild and 25 years in zoos. Calves are weaned at about a year, but stay with their mothers for at least 22 months. At birth, a calf is over 6 feet tall from the ground to its shoulders, and can begin to run with its mother about 10 hours later. They give birth while standing up or walking, so newborn calves drop 5-6 feet to the ground. They get moisture from their diet, but drink every two or three days if water is available.įemale giraffes usually become pregnant for the first time in about their fourth year. Using their very long, black tongues and tough lips, they eat up to 75 pounds of browse each day. Giraffes browse on flowers, fruits, herbs, leaves, seeds, new shoots and vines. These fights range from gentle to fierce and can end with a giraffe being knocked unconscious.
To establish hierarchy and access to females, males spar with each other by standing side by side and thumping their heads into the other male's body.
Females with new calves tend to live together, and the calves play together in groups. Giraffes live in loose herds of 10 to 200 animals. Large eyes and strong eyesight combines with their great height to allow giraffes to see threats coming from long distances-and to act as natural lookouts for smaller animals like zebras and wildebeest. One kick from a giraffe's hind leg has been known to kill a lion.
On the other hand, the slow-moving giraffe can gallop 35 miles an hour if needed, and its long front legs are surprisingly sturdy. Sleeping is usually done standing up because lying down means having to stand up again-an awkward, time-consuming process. This makes it easy for the giraffe to reach high into the trees for food.īeing tall has its challenges! To get blood up to their heads, giraffes have massive hearts that pump at 2 or 3 times the pressure of a healthy human. The joint that connects the top vertebra to the skull allows the giraffe to tilt its head upward until it is almost perpendicular to the ground. A giraffe has the same number of vertebrae (neck bones) as humans and other mammals do, but each is more than 10 inches long. A giraffe's necks account for more than half of its height. Males stand up to 18 feet tall and females up to 15 feet tall. The giraffe is the tallest land-based mammal in the world. Masai giraffes are the tallest of the giraffe subspecies.
They have jagged markings that look like grape or maple leaves. Masai giraffes range in the savannahs across central and southern Kenya and throughout Tanzania. "Reticulated" refers to the net-shaped pattern of their skin, which camouflages them in dense, dry vegetation. Reticulated giraffes live in open woodlands and wooded grasslands in Somalia, northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. The Oregon Zoo is home to representatives of two subspecies, the reticulated giraffe and the Masai giraffe.
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