Giraffe
Giraffe
Giraffes are the tallest animals, known for their long necks and legs. They have large eyes, upright manes, long tails with dark tips, and sandy coats with brown markings. Both sexes have bony horns (ossicones); males’ are thicker and may have an extra pair.

General Information:

Common Name:Giraffe
Scientific Name:Giraffa Camelopardalis
Kingdom: Animalia
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family:Giraffidae

Description

Giraffes are the world’s tallest living animals, easily identified due to their exclusively long neck. The legs of giraffes are long and solid. The hind legs are shorter than the front legs. The eyes are quite large, ears are medium-sized and the muzzle is long. The short mane stands upright. The tail is long and thin with a dark tassel of hair at the tip. Giraffes have short and sandy colored coat. They have pelage markings of different shape, colored various shades of brown. This animal has bony horns or ossicones, placed on the top of its head. Normally, horns of giraffes are medium-sized in both males and females. Male giraffes can sometimes grow another pair of horns behind the first pair. Females are identified by thin and tufted ossicones while males usually have thick horns with the hair, smoothed due to sparring.

Distribution

The area of their distribution is segmental, stretching southwards from Chad to South Africa and eastwards - from Niger to Somalia.

Habitat

Giraffes are frequently found in areas with Acacia trees. The most suitable habitat for these animals is dry, arid land. They inhabit grasslands, savannas and open woodlands.

Mating Habits

Giraffes have polygynous mating system. Giraffes are non-territorial and mate all year round. Usually, males engage in combats, after which the winner gets right to mate with receptive females whenever and wherever it finds them. Normally, gestation period lasts 13-15 months, yielding a single baby, rarely - twins. The female gives birth in a calving area, which she further uses throughout her life. Newborn calf is able to walk in just an hour after birth and can run within 24 hours after birth. Weaning occurs at 1 year old. Then, at the age of 15 months, the young become fully independent. While sexual maturity is reached at 4-5 years old, males start mating no sooner than 8 years of age.

Diet

Giraffes are herbivorous (folivores) with their diet, mainly consisting of acacia trees. Being browsers, these animals will also consume flowers, fruits, buds and wild apricots. In addition, they love eating seeds and fresh grass after the rain. They rarely drink, obtaining about 70% of the required moisture from food.

Herbivores

A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating

Threats

Hunting and poaching are among the major threats to giraffe population: these animals attract hunters for their meat, skin, and tail. Another concern is the loss of their natural habitat due to human activities.

IUCN Status

Vulnerable