Giraffes spend most of their day eating View photos of the giraffeThe giraffe is the world’s tallest mammal - 5.7 m from the ground to their hornsA giraffe may eat up to 75 pounds of food per day. Mother giraffes give birth standing up or walking and the giraffe calf drops 2 m to the ground. The giraffe evolved from a 10 ft tall deer-like animal... ...which roamed Europe and Asia 30-50
million years ago. Fossil records show that early giraffids had shorter necks and were more
stout in structure. Some had a leg length 83% that of the modern giraffe. There seems to be
no parallel increase in neck length in relation to other body parts. The modern giraffe
first appeared 1 million years ago. Giraffes can inhabit savannas, grasslands, or open
woodlands. They prefer areas enriched with Acacia growth... A giraffe has just 2 gaits, walk and gallop
The long legs and short trunk decree an ambling walk,
with the entire weight supported alternately on left and right legs, as in camels.
The long neck moves in synchrony to maintain balance. In galloping (top speed 37 mph [60 kph]),
forelegs and hind legs work in pairs like a running rabbit´s. To drink, a giraffe must
either straddle or bend its forelegs. The same is true of the okapi, disproving the
idea that the giraffe´s extra long neck and legs are the reason... It takes a lot of leaves to fuel such a large animal A giraffe may eat up to 75 pounds (34 kilograms)
of food per day. Giraffes spend most of their day eating because they get just a few
leaves in each bite. Their favorite leaves are from the acacia tree. Acacia trees have
long thorns that keep most animals from eating the leaves. But those thorns don´t stop
the giraffes! They simply use their 18-inch (46-centimeter) tongues to reach around the
thorns. It is thought that the dark color of their tongues protect them from getting
sunburned while reaching for leaves on trees. They also have thick, sticky saliva that
coats any thorns they might swallow... Most giraffe births take place from May to August Female giraffes breed every 20 to 30 months. The gestation period is
about 457 days. Mother giraffes give birth standing up or walking. The giraffe calf drops
2 m to the ground. Most often a single calf is born; twins are uncommon but do occur.
Newborn calves get to their feet and begin suckling fifteen minutes after birth. The
weaning period for female calves is 12 to 16 months; the weaning period for males is
12 to 14 months. The independence period varies between bulls and cows. Cows tend to
stay within the herd. However, bulls tend to become solitary until they find or
obtain their own herd and become the dominant male. Although giraffes are peaceful animals, they will defend themselves... ...from lions, leopards and hyenas which
attack the young, and sometimes adult giraffes. Giraffes give powerful kicks with all
four legs, and a well placed kick can kill a lion. Sometimes male giraffes fight each
other to decide which is stronger. They lean their hindquarters against each other for
support and swing their necks, using their horns like hammers to hit each other.
People think giraffes are unable to make sounds, but they can. It´s just that they do not
often do it. They can make a moo, bleat or grunt. When alarmed, they snort.
Giraffes rarely sleep. In fact, they only go into a deep sleep for about 20
minutes each 24 hours, resting their heads on their hindquarters... View more photos of the giraffe Books about the giraffe and wildlife in Africa 
|