Giraffe Eating Leaves Drawing Mama Elephant and Baby

The Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis meaning 'fast walking camel leopard) is an African fifty-fifty-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living creature species.

The giraffe is related to deer and cattle, however, it is placed in a carve up family, the Giraffidae, consisting only of the giraffe and its closest relative, the okapi.

The giraffes range extends from Chad to South Africa. Although the Okapi is much shorter than the giraffe, it also has a long neck and eats leaves and both animals have long tongues and skin-covered horns.

The giraffes ancestors beginning appeared in central Asia about xv million years ago, however, the earliest fossil records of the giraffe itself, from Israel and Africa, appointment back virtually i.5 million years.

Male giraffes are called 'Bulls', female giraffes are called 'Cows' and babe giraffes are called 'Calves'.

Giraffe Characteristics

The giraffe is the tallest living animal which is instantly recognizable by its exceptionally long neck. Adult males stand 15 – xix feet (iv.6 – six.0 metres) tall, whereas females are shorter at xiii – 16 feet (4 – 4.8 metres) alpine. Adult males counterbalance betwixt ane,764 – 4,255 pounds (800 – 930 kilograms), while females weigh simply i,213 – 2,601 pounds (550 – 1,180 kilograms).

The giraffe has the longest tail of whatever land mammal. Their tail can abound to be eight feet (2.4 metres) long, including the tuft on the finish.

In addition to its peachy height, the giraffe is also i of the heaviest land animals. Exceptionally large males may counterbalance upwardly to i,900 kilograms (about four,200 pounds).

Female giraffes are smaller, rarely reaching half that weight. Compared to other hoofed mammals the giraffe has a relatively curt body, however, its legs are disproportionately long.

A giraffes front legs are about 10% longer than their hind legs, a feature that contributes to the animals steeply sloping dorsum. Mature giraffes have large hooves about the size of dinner plates, around 12 inches wide.

Giraffe Habitat

Giraffes can inhabit savannas, grasslands or open woodlands. Giraffes prefer areas enriched with acacia growth (a genus of shrubs and trees). Most giraffes live either in Due east Africa or in Angola and Republic of zambia in southwestern Africa. Until the center of the 20th century giraffes were as well commonly found in West Africa, south of the Sahara. But populations there accept fallen sharply and go increasingly fragmented.

Giraffe Nutrition

Giraffes live in habitats where the bachelor food varies throughout the year. During the dry season, giraffes consume evergreen leaves, however, in one case the rainy flavour begins, they switch to new leaves and stems that sprout on deciduous copse. Besides, twigs and branches are pulled into the mouth of the giraffe with their long and dextrous tongues. In the wild giraffes can consume up to 66 kilograms of food daily.

When at that place is a pick, male and female giraffes feed in different ways. Males concentrate on leaves from the highest branches, while the females arch their necks to consume closer to the ground. Because of this feature behaviour, a giraffe can exist identified equally either male or female from a long altitude abroad simply by its opinion while eating. Male person giraffes are also more inclined to wander into dumbo woodland, a habitat that females generally avoid.

Giraffes potable large quantities of water and as a effect, they tin can spend long periods of time in dry, arid areas. When searching for more food they will venture into areas with denser foliage. The giraffe has tough lips to ensure there is no damage to their mouths when chewing at trees and twigs such as thorns.

Giraffes in captivity are generally fed on alfalfa hay and pellets, apples, carrots, bananas and browse (elm and alder are favourites).

Giraffe Behaviour

Female giraffes acquaintance in groups of a dozen or so members, occasionally including a few younger males. Male giraffes tend to live in available herds, with older males often leading lone lives. A individual giraffe can bring together or leave the herd at any fourth dimension and for no detail reason.

Because giraffes are and so widely scattered, it may seem that they do not keep in contact with each other, however, this is not truthful. A giraffes nifty eyesight ways they can keep an eye on their neighbours even at a altitude.

Female person giraffes spend just over half a 24 60 minutes twenty-four hours browsing, male giraffes spend less time doing this – about 43% of the fourth dimension that the female does. Dark is mostly spent lying downwardly ruminating, peculiarly in the hours after dark and before dawn.

Male person giraffes spend about 22% of the 24 hours walking, compared to 13% for female giraffes. The rest of the time male giraffes are searching for a female person giraffe to mate with. Giraffe herds exercise non have a leader and individual giraffes evidence no particular preferences for others in the herd.

Young giraffes are never left solitary, nonetheless, they are looked after in a kind of nursery group where the females assist look after each others calves (baby giraffes).

Giraffes spend up to half their fourth dimension feeding and nigh of the residuum is taken up either by searching for nutrient or slowly digesting what they accept eaten. Sometimes giraffes sleep during the daytime, often while standing.

Giraffes normally lie down just at night, tucking their feet under the body and normally keeping the caput upright. However, when a giraffe is sleeping, something information technology does just for merely a few minutes at a time, it curves its cervix around and rests its head on or nearly its behind.

One of the almost fascinating elements of giraffe behaviour is the duel between males fighting for mating partners. Giraffe duels are amidst the most extraordinary in the animal kingdom. Duels begin when two males approach each other and engage in rubbing and intertwining their necks. This behaviour is known as 'necking'. It allows the opponents to appraise each others size and strength.

Often, necking solitary is plenty to establish dominance. If not, the rivals begin to exchange blows with their heads, using their short horns to tackle each other.

Each giraffe braces its front legs and swings its head upward and over its shoulder. If a accident lands solidly, the giraffe may stagger under the impact and in rare cases may even collapse onto the ground. More oftentimes the contest breaks off afterward a few minutes and the loser simply walks away.

Giraffe Reproduction

The Giraffe breeding season tin occur at any fourth dimension during the year. Withal, births in the wild usually happen during the dry flavour and births in captivity can happen all year round. Giraffes accomplish sexual maturity in captivity at effectually 3 – 4 years old, notwithstanding, in the wild, males practice not usually breed until they are 6 – seven years old. In dissimilarity to the male person breeding age, females must exist physically larger to bear offspring.

When male giraffes are ready to brood, they begin the ritual combat over mates. Giraffes are not- territorial and a successful male person giraffe will mate with receptive female giraffes whenever and wherever information technology finds them.

Gestation period is usually 13 – 15 months and when a meaning female giraffe is ready to requite birth, she makes her mode to a calving expanse that she will utilize throughout her life. The moment of nascency is dramatic, with the mother giraffe continuing on all fours and the calf tumbling onto the footing. Remarkably, the calf is rarely injured by its fall.

Newborn giraffes are oftentimes on their feet within xx minutes and are soon feeding on their mothers milk. Calves tin can walk about an 60 minutes after nativity and tin run within 24 hours of nascence. Giraffe calves are about 2 metres (half-dozen feet) alpine at birth and weigh 104 – 154 pounds. Giraffe calves grow about iii centimetres tall each mean solar day during the outset week and double their superlative in their first twelvemonth.

By the age of ane year giraffe calves can measure 10 feet tall. Giraffe calves are weaned at i twelvemonth and become fully independent by 15 months of age. Female giraffe calves are fully grown by historic period v and male giraffe calves by the age of seven.

Young giraffes may suckle for upward to a year, yet, they get-go to sample plants just a few weeks after birth. Giraffe calves are set up to leave the protection of their mother afterward 15 – xviii months of development.

Adult giraffes by and large have no predators other than lions and humans, as their huge hooves are very effective in defending against predators. Giraffes are more than vulnerable when they are lying downwardly or drinking, considering this gives lions the opportunity to leap upwards and seize them past the olfactory organ or throat.

Newly born calves are at much greater risk. Despite their mothers all-time efforts to protect them, over l percent of all giraffe newborns are killed by hyenas and big cats such every bit lions and leopards during the first month of their life. In captivity, giraffes have lived over the historic period of thirty years, however, their maximum life bridge in the wild is about 25 years.

Giraffe Sounds

Giraffes are usually silent although they tin bellow, grunt or snort when alarmed, equally when confronted by lions, and can also moo in distress.

Agree your mouse over the giraffe photo and you may be able to hear a giraffe grunt. (ie only)

Calves (immature giraffes) bleat and brand a mewing call, cows (female giraffes) seeking lost calves volition bellow and courtship bulls (male giraffes) may emit a raucous cough. Giraffes also give alarm snorts, whereby moaning, snoring, hissing and flute like sounds have been reported. Giraffes likewise give out a grunting sound that sounds like a grunter.

Giraffe Adaptions

Giraffes accept amazing adaptions that assist them with their lifestyle in the wild. Because giraffes grow to a very tall pinnacle, it gives them access to a level of leafage beyond attain of all other large browsing animals all except possibly, the elephant.

Forth with their elevation, giraffes have an incredible array of adaptations. For example, their pare colouring provides excellent camouflage, every bit it has many dissimilar patches of variable size and colour.

Giraffes skin is very thick, so it provides ample protection and insulation. Also, the giraffe'southward long eyelids keep out ants and sense thorns on the branches of the trees from which they scan. The valves in veins of the cervix control a huge rush of claret to the head when leaning over; this prevents unconsciousness.

There is also a network of capillaries in the brain called the 'wonder-internet'. Information technology acts rather like a shock cushion and is another function of the system that prevents unconsciousness. (Also see 'Giraffe Anatomy' for more facts about the giraffes cervix).

A giraffes tongue is over 18 inches (46 centimetres) long, and the roof of the mouth is grooved to easily strip leaves off branches. Since giraffes are extremely efficient at processing nutrients and liquids from food, they can survive without water for long periods of time. Giraffes ruminate day or night, with periods of sleep in between.

Giraffes too balance with their eyes open, standing or lying for three to 5 minutes at a time. Throughout the dark, a giraffe may deeply sleep for five to 10 minutes lying downward, still they rarely sleep more than than twenty minutes total per day.

Giraffe Conservation Condition

Like many of Africas large mammals, giraffes have declined in numbers and in range over the final century. At 1 time, herds of over 100 animals were common in savanna regions across the continent, even so, today concentrations like these exist but in E Africa particularly Tanzania Serengeti National Park.

The decline of giraffe populations has largely been due to hunting. In Africa, the giraffe is a traditional source of hide and hair and also of tough merely nutritious meat. Hunting of giraffes has not yet had a catastrophic effect, as it has on some of Africas big-game animals, but it is a crusade for concern. The natural habitat of the giraffe is also being impacted more and more past human activities, reducing the animals range.

The giraffe is currently a protected species throughout almost of its range and is classed as conservation-dependent past the Globe Conservation Union (IUCN). The giraffes prospects for survival are good for those living in national parks and game reserves, simply for animals living exterior these areas the future is less secure.

Giraffe FAQs

How alpine is a giraffe?

The giraffe is the tallest living animate being on land. Fully grown giraffes stand 4.three to five.seven 1000 (xiv.1 to 18.7 ft) tall, with males taller than females. Despite its long neck and legs, the giraffe'due south body is relatively short.

A giraffe's neck can be up to 2.iv one thousand (7.nine ft) in length. It results from a disproportionate lengthening of the cervical vertebrae, non from the addition of more vertebrae. Each cervical vertebra is over 28 cm (11 in) long. The giraffe's elongation of the neck largely takes place afterwards birth, because giraffe mothers would have a difficult fourth dimension giving birth to young with the same cervix proportions as adults.

It has been suggested that competitive force per unit area from smaller browsers, like kudu, steenbok and impala, encouraged the elongation of the giraffe's neck, as it enabled giraffes to reach food that competitors could non. Giraffes can feed upwardly to iv.5 g (15 ft) high.

What audio does a giraffe brand?

Early biologists suggested giraffes were mute and unable to produce air flow of sufficient velocity to vibrate their vocal folds. All the same, they accept been recorded communicating using snorts, sneezes, coughs, snores, hisses, bursts, moans, grunts, growls and flute-like sounds. During nighttime, giraffes appear to hum to each other higher up the infrasound range.

During courtship, males emit loud coughs. Females as well call their immature by bellowing. Calves will emit snorts, bleats, mooing and mewing sounds.

How long does a giraffe alive?

Giraffes accept an unusually long lifespan compared to other ruminants, and can live to up to 38 years. Adult giraffes are non ordinarily preyed on because of their size, eyesight and powerful kicks, however, lions can prey on smaller individuals and giraffes are a common food source for big cats. Adult females are a lot more probable to survive if the group in which they socialize is bigger.

Giraffe calves are much more vulnerable than adults and are also preyed on by leopards, spotted hyenas and wild dogs. A quarter to a half of giraffe calves accomplish adulthood. Calves built-in during the dry flavor have college survival rates.

What do giraffes eat?

Giraffes are herbivores and are known to eat up to sixty different species of constitute. They most commonly eat from acacia trees but also browse for wild apricots, flowers, fruits and buds along with eating seeds and fresh grass merely after the rains. When stressed, giraffes may chew the bark off branches.

A giraffe eats around 34 kg (75 lb) of foliage daily. They mostly eat during the first and terminal hours of daytime. They get 70% of their moisture from their food so need to potable very petty. In fact, they can survive for up to three weeks without drinking water. Even so, when they exercise see clean water, they must splay their front end legs (which are longer than the back) in order to get their caput close plenty to the footing to drink.

Giraffe requires less food than many other herbivores because the foliage it eats has more concentrated nutrients and information technology has a more efficient digestive organisation. As a ruminant, giraffes first chew food, then eat it for processing and then visibly passes the half-digested cud up the neck and back into the oral cavity to chew again.

Their acme helps them to reach branches and leaves that other animals cannot. Competition for nutrient is thought to be the main reason why their necks are then long. They use their prehensile lips and flattened, grooved teeth are able to strip the leaves off the branches.

How exercise giraffes slumber?

Giraffes ordinarily sleep lying down, although continuing sleeps accept been recorded, particularly in older individuals. In captivity, a giraffe sleeps intermittently around 4.vi hours per twenty-four hours, mostly at night, but in the wild they can slumber every bit little as 5 to xxx minutes in a 24 60 minutes period. The nearly mutual amount of sleep for giraffes is between 1 and 2 hours.

Giraffes also go through intermittent short "deep sleep" phases. These are characterised by the giraffe bending its neck backwards and resting its head on the hip or thigh.

Where practice giraffes live?

Giraffes are native to Kenya, Republic of cameroon, Chad, Niger, Republic of uganda, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Angola, and South Africa. They were originally found in over 20 African nations but are now extinct in seven nations – Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Republic of guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal. Virtually giraffes live in E Africa, although some are found in the reserves of Southern Africa. The largest concentration of these animals are establish in National Parks.

The unlike subspecies of giraffe live in different countries in Africa, but certain species have failing populations in areas, mostly due to habitat loss and poaching. The Uganda giraffe historically lived in western Kenya, Uganda, and southern Sudan, merely now survives in only a few small-scale, isolated populations in Kenya and Uganda. The Nigerian giraffe is at present plant in just one area of Niger. The reticulated giraffe lives in Somalia, southern Ethiopia, and northern Kenya.

Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands, where there are big amounts of foliage for them to feed on. Their coloring helps them to alloy in with their environment, only they are and then large that they are safer in numbers instead of trying to hibernate.

Because giraffes feed on vegetation that is high in the trees but also besides woody for the mouths of smaller herbivores, they are also able to remain in areas where domestic grazing has obliterated the institute species shut to the ground.

What is a grouping of giraffes chosen?

A group of giraffes is called a belfry! Giraffes are social animals and are usually constitute in groups, often chosen herds. The groups vary in size and composition, only can range in size from one to upwardly to 66 individuals! Giraffe towers tend to be sex-segregated, although mixed-sex groups made of adult females and young males too occur.

Females are more selective about who they associate with from the contrary sex, and many herds are made upward of mothers and their young. Every bit they get older, males become more than alone but may as well acquaintance in pairs or with female person groups.

How does a giraffe move?

Giraffes have two means of moving, a loping walk and a gallop. When they walk, the giraffes motility both feet on one side of their torso in unison, followed past both feet on the other side. When they run, giraffes move the front feet together, so the dorsum feet, swinging the hind feet upwards and planting them in front of the forefeet. While running, the neck of a giraffe moves astern and forward to proceed the fauna counterbalanced. Giraffes take a height speed of about 56 kilometres per 60 minutes (35 miles per hour), nevertheless, because its legs are so long a galloping giraffe does not appear to be going very fast.

Giraffes are not bang-up travelers, despite their long legs. Giraffes cannot walk over swampy ground considering their hooves apace sink and they very rarely wade beyond rivers. Giraffes on opposite banks of a river may never come into contact, unless the water levels drib.

How does a giraffe bend down?

For giraffes, bending downwardly is a daily challenge. To accomplish ground level for example, when drinking a giraffe has to splay its front legs at an angle of well-nigh 45 degrees.

A giraffes circulatory system is also specially modified, because the loftier pressure level needed to pump blood up to its head could crusade brain impairment when the head is lowered. To bargain with this trouble, giraffes take elastic claret vessels that relieve some of the excess pressure level.

Giraffes too have a series of valves in their neck veins that ensure that blood ever flows from the head dorsum towards the heart, fifty-fifty when this means going against gravity.

When giraffes practice bend down to drinkable at water holes, it is commonly done in pairs. This is so that ane giraffe can drink, whilst the other keeps an eye open for predators.

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Source: https://animalcorner.org/animals/giraffe/