Facts about Giraffe

Male giraffes determine female fertility by tasting the female's urine in order to detect estrus, in a multi-step process known as the flehmen response.

Giraffe's have long (46 centimeter or 18 inch), prehensile, blue-black tongues that they can use to maneuver around the long thorns of the acacia trees in order to reach the leaves on which they feed.

A giraffe moves in a gait where both the front and back legs on one side move foward at the same time, and then the two legs on the other side move forward (ZSSD 2007).

Giraffes have spots covering their entire bodies, except their underbellies, with each giraffe having a unique pattern of spots.

Young giraffes can eat leaves at the age of four months.

The giraffe has one of the shortest sleep requirements of any mammal, which is between ten minutes and two hours in a 24-hour period, averaging 1.9 hours per day (BBC 2007).

Giraffe gestation lasts between 14 and 15 months, after which a single calf is born.

Physiological adaptations, particularly in the circulatory system, permit the giraffe's large size.

The longer a neck is, and the heavier the head at the end of the neck, the greater force a giraffe will be able to deliver in a blow.

The giraffe's lungs can hold 12 gallons (55 liters) of air (ZSSD 2007).

The pace of the giraffe is an amble, though when pursued it can run extremely fast, around 30 miles an hour (48 km/hr) (ZSSD 2007).

A giraffe can eat 63 kg (140 lb) of leaves and twigs daily.

The worn down bald horns of the rear reticulated giraffe show it is male, while the tufts of the closer giraffe show it is female.

Like humans, giraffes have seven neck vertebrae; unlike human neck vertebrae, giraffe neck vertebrae can each be over 25 centimeters (ten inches) long (ZSSD 2007).

Some scientists regard Kordofan and West African giraffes as a single subspecies; similarly with Nubian and Rothschild's giraffes, and with Angolan and South African giraffes.

Giraffes are one of the very few animals that cannot swim at all.

Only 25 to 50 percent of giraffe calves reach adulthood; the life expectancy is between 20 and 25 years in the wild and up to 28 years in captivity (McGhee and McKay 2007).

Giraffes are the tallest land animals, reaching 5.5 meters (18 feet).

Female giraffes associate in groups of a dozen or so members, up to 20, occasionally including a few younger males.

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), an African even-toed ungulate mammal, has a very long neck and legs and is the tallest of all land-living animal species.

The microorganisms get food and a place to live and the giraffe gets help with its digestion.

The giraffe browses selectively on more than 100 species of trees and shrubs (Grzimek et al.

By contrast, some scientists have proposed four other subspecies—Cape giraffe (G. c. capensis), Lado giraffe (G. c. cottoni), Congo giraffe (G. c. congoensis), and Transvaal giraffe (G.c.

The giraffe is native to most of Sub-Saharian Africa with its range extending from Chad to South Africa.

Giraffes play an unique role in the ecosystem by consuming leaves too high for use by most animals and by sometimes serving as an "early-warning" system for near-by animals regarding the presence of predators.

Giraffes are hunted only by lions and crocodiles (ZSSD 2007).

Giraffes are thought to be mute; however, although generally quiet, they have been heard to grunt, snort and bleat.

Maasai giraffe have jagged-edged, vine-leaf shaped spots of dark chocolate on a yellowish background.

A single well-placed kick of an adult giraffe can shatter a lion's skull or break its spine.

The high water content in acacia leaves allows giraffes to go a long time without drinking (ZSSD 2007).

The giraffe can defend itself against threats by kicking with great force.

After a period with the friendly Ascanio Piccolomini (the Archbishop of Siena), Galileo was allowed to return to his villa at Arcetri near Florence, where he spent the remainder of his life under house arrest.