World Wonders
Atlas
Wildlife
Celebrities
Movies
Puzzles
Die-Cast
Magazines
Search
FAQ
WonderClub Left Side Planet Logo
WonderClub.com
WonderClub Right Side Planet Logo
line

GIRAFFE

Click here to buy Giraffe products!

Like human fingerprints, the markings of a giraffe's coat are unique to each individual. When groups are gathered, the patterns act as disruptive camouflage, confusing potential predators. The giraffe's sharp vision and towering height help it to anticipate attack from predators.

HABITS

Giraffes are sociable by nature. They live in groups but do not form permanent herds. Bulls (adult males) have an identifiable pecking order, which is established through the ritual of neck wrestling. A strange bull entering an area will be challenged by the dominant male. They will proceed to butt heads (their skulls are particularly strong) until one of them retreats.

Giraffe

BREEDING

When a giraffe cow (or female) is ready to mate, she attracts all the mature bulls in the area. The dominant bull wins her by driving off all the other males.

Giraffe Mother and Baby

The young are born fifteen months later at a calving ground where they remain for the early part of their lives. The same calving grounds are used time after time by many females. That way, when the mothers go off to feed during the day, the calves are left to protect one another. Even so, half of the calves die in the first 6 months from attacks by hyenas, leopards, and wild dogs.

As the calf grows older, it begins to roam with its mother. Its main predator is the lion. After calves are a year old, their mortality rate drops  below 10 percent. 

 

While the mother will mate 5 months after giving birth, her calf is not weaned until it is 15 months old. Young females stay in their mothers' home ranges, but young males wander away at about 3 years old.

FOOD & HUNTING

The giraffe browses for its food, which consists of the leaves and shoots of  trees and shrubs.

Thorny acacia trees pose little problem for the giraffe; the giraffe picks off individual shoots and bunches of leaves from between the thorns with its tongue, which can be up to 18 inches long. Plants without thorns are stripped of their leaves as the giraffe pulls the whole length of smaller branches through its teeth.

The male and female feed from different part of a tree. The female forages among the lower branches while the male feeds from the higher braches. This behavior ensures that the sexes do not have to compete for the same food within their range.

KEY FACTS 

        Size 

              Height including horns: Male, 15-17 feet. Female 12-15 feet.

              Weight: Males, 1,765-4,255 lb. Female, 1,215-2,600 lb.

       Breeding

             Sexual maturity: Males, 31/2 years.  Female, 4-5 years.

             Mating: Anytime. 

             Gestation: 453-465 days. 

             Number of young:  Usually one calf.

       Lifestyle

            Habit: Loosely bound groups. 

            Diet: Leaves from trees, shrubs, climbers, vines, and some herbs. 

            Lifespan: 25 years in the wild.

 

 DID YOU KNOW?

  • A giraffe's long neck has the same number of vertebrae, seven as most other mammals have. But the giraffes' are greatly elongated.

  • A giraffe is one of the few animals born with horns. A baby giraffe's horns lie flat against the skull when it is born and pop upright during the first week of life.


CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? CLICK HERE!!!