A giraffe eats hundreds of pounds of leaves each week and must travel miles to find enough food. The giraffe's height also helps it to keep a sharp lookout for predators across the wide expanse of the African savanna. The giraffe's stature can be a disadvantage as well—it is difficult and dangerous for a giraffe to drink at a water hole. To do so they must spread their legs and bend down in an awkward position that makes them vulnerable to predators like Africa's big cats.
Giraffes only need to drink once every several days; they get most of their water from the luscious plants they eat. Female giraffes give birth standing up. Their young endure a rather rude welcome into the world by falling more than 5 feet to the ground at birth.
These infants can stand in half an hour and run with their mothers an incredible ten hours after birth. Giraffes have beautiful spotted coats. While no two individuals have exactly the same pattern, giraffes from the same area appear similar. Up until recently, the consensus has been there is only one species of giraffe with multiple subspecies. In , some scientists released a study that claims genetic differences among giraffe populations indicate the existence of four distinct giraffe species.
All rights reserved. How many vertebrae are in that long neck? A truly a unique species, giraffes are found only in sub-Saharan Africa and can reach unbelievable heights. Learn surprising giraffe facts, such as why they need such enormous hearts and how they get by on less than thirty minutes of sleep each day. A reticulated giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata and a Rothschild's giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi , two giraffe subspecies, photographed at Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure in Salina, Kansas.
Common Name: Giraffe. Scientific Name: Giraffa camelopardalis. Type: Mammals. Diet: Herbivore. Giraffes are social animals that live in unstable herds of 10 to 20 individuals, although they can be up to 50 members.
However, they do not have strong social ties like other animal species, except the mothers with their offspring, since each member of the herd can leave the group at will. The herds have females, offspring, young, and some males. Some individuals prefer to stay alone, especially some bulls that are less social than cows. Observing the social structure of giraffes is interesting. The females bond very well together, so they group in small herds with about 10 to 12 members.
There will not be males often in that group unless they are still under the care of their mothers. To protect their young, females help each other out and form what are called nursery groups to take care of the offspring while mothers alternate watching and eating.
The young males that are old enough to care for themselves, form bachelor herds. They will play with each other, interacting to try to find out who is the strongest and thus the most dominant in the group. For this, they often engage in battles called necking where they contest for a couple of minutes. Similar to a human arm wrestling contest to see who is the stronger party. These confrontations are not carried out for territorial reasons since they are not concerned about that, but to select the dominant male and the one that will have more opportunity to mate.
They can take several minutes and usually do not end in deaths, but sometimes they can suffer some injuries. It is possible to say that between males exist certain cordiality, since once they finish the confrontation, they can coexist peacefully in the same territory, unlike other animals where the winner chases the loser until it completely disappears.
Mature males leave their born group and usually spend the rest of their lives alone except when it is time for mating. The dominant adult males have the privilege of mating with an entire herd of giraffes. The giraffe is the tallest living animal. A long neck consisting of seven vertebrae enable the giraffe to reach trees and shrubs that are out of reach of other animals. Their long 18" tongue and their ability to extend their head vertically gives them an even longer reach above their towering height.
This gives the giraffe an advantage when it comes to survival. The habitat of the giraffe is dry savannah, grasslands or open woodlands.
They will move into wooded areas with denser vegetation in search of food. They occasionally eat grasses, and fruit on trees, but Acacia and Combretum trees are their favorite. Giraffes need about 75lbs of leaves per day to maintain their body weight. This requires that they spend at least 12 hours a day grazing or browsing for food. The trees the giraffe eat are often far apart and their herds tend to wander in a loose formation when foraging. The giraffe lives in very dry areas and will drink large quantities of water when they can to survive.
They tend to drink water every couple of days and consume an average of 10 gallons on days that they drink. They also obtain water through their diet of Acacia leaves and foilage, enabling them to survive longer in dry areas where water is sometimes scarce.
The only viable predator an adult giraffe has is the lion. Giraffes have very powerful legs and they use their legs to defend themselves. A strategic kick by a giraffe to the skull of a lion can kill it. Young giraffes have more predators due to their smaller size.
Lions, hyenas and leopards often prey on giraffe calves. Approximately one fourth of all giraffe calves survive their first year of life. The giraffe is not a territorial creature. They live in herds that are open with no obvious leader. The social behavior of giraffes is very informal and the individuals in the herds are often changing. Their need to spend a large portion of their day foraging for food makes them more independent than most herd animals. Females tend to associate with other females when they have calf groups.
The calves will move and play with each other, forming durable peer groups. The advantage of the mother-calf groups is substantial protection from predators for the young. Males will stay with their maternal herd until around the age of 3, when they may move to another herd consisting of bachelors.
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