Giraffe
What is necking?
a behavior where two males rub their necks together and lean on/shove each other to see who is stronger, or it can escalate to mock battles in which they swing their necks and try to hit each other with their ossicones
What do males develop?
a bump of calcium deposits on their foreheads which can get noticeably large
In some subspecies, what do males have?
a smaller additional set of ossicones behind the first pair
What is under the dark patches of their patterns?
a very complex system of blood vessels, with a large vessel surrounding each patch and feeding into smaller vessels that run under the patch
What does this coloration do?
acts as a natural sunscreen for giraffes who have their tongues out eating all day long
Giraffe vertebrae are just much ___
bigger
What are these blood vessels for?
blood flowing into the small vessels under the patches makes a thermal window to release body heat
How can you tell giraffe subspecies apart?
by their different spot colorations and shapes
What do males in a group do?
compete for dominance through necking
The groups that giraffes live in are...
constantly shifting and changing
What color is the tongue?
dark colored with a lighter pink base
What color are the tongues?
dark purple
Giraffes can go for a long time without ___
drinking
Why do giraffes go a long time without drinking?
drinking can be risky because they have to splay their legs to bend down and drink, making them vulnerable to predators on land as well as to crocodiles in the water
How big is each neck vertebrae?
each vertebrae can be up to ten inches long
How do giraffes get most of their water in the wild?
from their diet - acacia trees store a lot of water in their leaves
What is a giraffe's skin like?
grey colored and thick enough to protect them from thorns
What do giraffes eat?
herbivores - eat twigs, leaves, and fruits
What does the coat pattern do?
it allows the animal to camouflage among the trees and shadows
How do acacia trees protect themselves?
large thorns
What is their preferred food in the wild?
leaves of the acacia tree
In the wild, how much water does a giraffe drink on average?
less than 2 gallons a week
What do the dominant males do?
mate with the available females
What happens after necking?
one retreats without serious injury to the other party
What are giraffe "horns" called?
ossicones
Male giraffes have large ___, which they use when they are ___
ossicones necking
What are ossicones made of?
ossified cartilage covered with skin
The tongues are ___ and are used to...
prehensile pull leaves off branches
What do the papillae do?
protect them from thorny plants
The giraffe is the largest ___ on Earth
ruminant
Giraffes are ___ with ___ stomachs
ruminants four-chambered
What is their habitat?
savannas, grasslands, and open woodlands
Where are giraffes found?
scattered in areas of Africa ranging from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east
How many neck vertebrae do giraffes have?
seven like most mammals
Giraffes do not form ___
strong social bonds
What is necking?
swinging their long necks at each other to fight over females
Giraffes are the ___ land animals on earth
tallest
The giraffe is the ___ terrestrial animal living on Earth
tallest
These patterns vary among ___ and ___
the different subspecies the different geographically separated populations
All four legs are...
the same length
Individual giraffes have what?
their own unique spot patterns, like fingerprints or zebra stripes
Do giraffes live alone or in groups?
they are found in groups
What do female ossicones look like?
they are thin and tufted
What happens to the male's ossicones with age?
they get larger and heavier
What is the giraffe's coloration?
they have a mottled coat pattern which can range from very light brown to almost solid black
What is special about the giraffe's mouth?
they have prehensile upper lips and long prehensile tongues
What do their bodies look like?
they have relatively short bodies with long legs and necks
What do giraffes do when they are not looking for food?
they regurgitate food from their stomachs and chew their cud
How do giraffes get around these thorns?
they use their long tongues to get around the thorns and strip leaves off the trees
What covers the mouth and tongue?
thickened papillae
What do male ossicones look like?
thicker and bald on top
What is the tongue used for?
to gather food
Why is the tongue dark colored?
to protect the tongue from the sun
Each giraffe has a ___
unique pattern
How tall do female giraffes get?
up to 14 feet
How tall do male giraffes get?
up to 18 feet
How much do male giraffes weigh?
up to 3000-3500 pounds
Scientific name
Giraffa camelopardalis
Main consevation message
Giraffes are quietly becoming an endangered species. There are less than 100,000 giraffes left in Africa. That is less than elephants. They suffer mostly from habitat loss, but a new trend is that they are being hunted for meat by elephant poachers hunting elephants for ivory. If we pledge never to purchase any product made from ivory, that will help cut down demand, hopefully curtailing elephant poaching, and thus curtailing giraffe hunting as well. Any ivory products you currently own can be donated to US Fish and Wildlife, where they crush it to make artwork that promotes elephant conservation.
How much water can they drink if it is available?
10-12 gallons a day
How much do female giraffes weigh?
1500-1800 pounds
Males average ___ feet tall
16-17
How long is a giraffe's tongue?
18 inches
How long is a giraffe's tongue?
18 to 20 inches
How tall was the tallest giraffe on record?
19.5 feet
How long can giraffe legs and necks get?
6 feet
How tall are babies when they are born?
6 feet
How many neck vertebrae to giraffes have?
7 like most other mammals
How much food can they eat in one day?
75 pounds
How much does a giraffe eat?
75 pounds of vegetation a day
How many subspecies of giraffe are there?
9
