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The giraffe is an even-toed ungulate from the same family as the camel and is the tallest of all animals that live on land. A giraffe’s front legs can be 10% longer than their back legs!
For more interesting facts and information on giraffes, keep reading or alternatively download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.
Giraffe Facts
- The giraffe is a tall hoofed mammal endemic to Africa.
- It belongs to the genus Giraffa.
- It is the tallest living terrestrial animal.
- It is also the largest ruminant (an even-toed mammal that chews regurgitated cud) on Earth.
- Giraffes require the least amount of sleep of any animal. They only need between 10 minutes and 2 hours of sleep a day.
- Giraffes are normally quiet animals. However, they do cough, whistle, bellow, moo, grunt, snort, and hiss.
- The giraffe is easily identifiable by its very long neck and legs, its tan and white spotted pattern, and distinctive horn-like structures on its head called ossicones.
- It is classified under the family Giraffidae, which also includes its relative from Central Africa – the forest-dwelling okapi.
- There are four subspecies, namely the Masai, reticulated, Rothschild, and Nubian.
- The giraffe has a large range and can be found throughout Africa in countries like South Africa in the south, Somalia in the east, Niger in the west, and Chad in the north.
- Even though they’re very big animals, they are still vulnerable to predators like lions, leopards, wild dogs, and hyenas.
- Giraffes are found in numerous game reserves and national parks and in many zoos around the world.
Appearance
- An adult giraffe stands between 14.1-18.7 feet tall (4.3–5.7 m). Males are generally taller than females.
- Giraffes are heavy animals. On average, an adult male weighs around 2,628 lb (1,192 kg), and 1,825 lb (828 kg) for an adult female.
- Despite its long neck and legs, a giraffe’s body is relatively short.
- The skin is mostly gray, or tan with a thickness of 20 mm (0.79 in).
- The giraffe coat has dark blotches or patches, which can be orange, brown, chestnut, or nearly black, separated by lighter, cream-colored hair.
- Each giraffe has a unique coat pattern and the spots on each giraffe are very distinct, much like our fingerprints.
- Male giraffes become darker as they age.
- The tail is between 80–100 centimeters (31–39 in) long and ends in a long, dark tuft of hair which is used as a defense against insects.
- Calves inherit some coat pattern traits from their mothers.
Head
- Both sexes have prominent horn-like structures called ossicones, formed from cartilage, and covered in skin. The ossicones of females and young giraffes are thin and display tufts of hair on top, whereas those of adult males end in knobs and tend to be bald on top from rubbing and fighting.
- As males age, their skulls become heavier and more club-like, helping them become more dominant in fights with other males. The animal can tilt its head straight up and grab food on the branches above with the tongue.
- Giraffe’s eyes are located on both sides of the head, giving it good eyesight and a wide field of vision from its great height. The eye is large with a big retinal surface area. Giraffes’ senses of hearing and smell are also sharp.
- The giraffe’s black tongue is prehensile and about 45 cm (18 in) long. It is useful for grasping foliage, and delicately removing leaves from branches.
- The upper jaw lacks front teeth.
Neck
- The giraffe has an extremely elongated neck, which can be up to 2.4 m (7.9 ft) in length.
- Along the neck is a mane made of short, erect hairs.
- The neck typically rests at an angle of 50–60 degrees, though juveniles have straighter necks and rest at 70 degrees.
- Each cervical vertebra is over 28 cm (11 in) long, resulting in a very long neck.
- The giraffe’s head and neck are held up by large muscles which are anchored by long dorsal spines.
- Giraffes perform a behavior called necking. Necking duels occur when males fight.
- Giraffes also use their necks to show affection toward another giraffe.
Legs
- A giraffe’s long front and back legs are about the same length.
- The hooves of large male giraffes reach a diameter of 31 cm × 23 cm (12.2 in × 9.1 in).
- A giraffe has only two gaits; walking and galloping. Walking is done by moving the legs on one side of the body, then doing the same on the other side. When galloping, the hind legs move around the front legs before the latter move forward, and the tail will often curl up.
- The giraffe can reach a sprint speed of up to 60 km/h (37 mph), and can sustain 50 km/h (31 mph) for several kilometers.
- A giraffe rests by lying with its body on top of its folded legs. To lie down, the animal kneels on its front legs and then lowers the rest of its body. To get back up, it first gets on its front knees and shifts hindquarters onto its back feet. It then moves from kneeling to standing on its front legs and pulls the rest of its body upwards, swinging its head for balance.
- When the giraffe wants to bend down to drink, it either spreads its front legs or bends its knees.
Feeding and Habitat
- Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and open woodlands.
- Giraffes browse on the twigs of trees, preferring those of the subfamily Acacieae, important sources of calcium and protein to sustain the giraffe’s growth rate.
- They also feed on shrubs, grass, and fruit.
- A giraffe eats around 34 kg (75 lb) of foliage daily.
- As a ruminate, the giraffe first chews its food, then swallows it for processing, and then visibly passes the half-digested cud up the neck and back into the mouth to chew again.
- Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving “waistlines” to too tall trees.
Reproduction and Care of Young
- Females can reproduce throughout the year.
- Male giraffes assess female fertility by tasting the female’s urine to detect oestrus.
- Giraffe gestation lasts 400–460 days, after which a single calf is normally born, although twins occur on rare occasions.
- A newborn giraffe is 1.7–2 m (5.6–6.6 ft) tall.
- Within a few hours of birth, the calf can run around.
- Mothers with calves will gather in nursery herds, moving or browsing together.
- Calves may be weaned at six to eight months old but can remain with their mothers for up to 14 months.
- Females become sexually mature when they are four years old, while males become mature at four or five years.
Relationship with Humans
- With its long neck and legs, and spotted coat, the giraffe has fascinated humans throughout history. For some cultures, the giraffe symbolizes flexibility, far-sightedness, femininity, fragility, passivity, grace, and beauty.
- Giraffes were depicted in art throughout the African continent.
- The Kiffians were responsible for a life-size rock engraving of two giraffes, dated 8,000 years ago, that has been called the “world’s largest rock art petroglyph.”
- How the giraffe got its height has been the subject of various African folktales.
- In literature, Roald Dahl’s The Giraffe and Pelly and Me published in 1985, the giraffe has a magical extendable neck.
- Giraffes have been kept in captivity since the ancient Egyptians and were often kept and displayed by wealthy Romans.
- Throughout human history, giraffes have been hunted for meat, their skin, traditional medicine, and for sport.
- Giraffes are listed as vulnerable because of habitat destruction, droughts, human encroachment, and hunting for bushmeat.
Giraffe Worksheets
This bundle contains 9 ready-to-use Giraffe Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about giraffes, the tallest of all land animals, and are even-toed ungulates from the same family as the camel.
Download includes the following worksheets
- Giraffe Facts
- Quick Quiz
- Giraffe Basics – Color Giraffe
- External Anatomy
- Sub-nine
- Taller than.. – Compare and Contrast
- Sivatherium – Siva-drawn
- Gir-activities – Sentence Acrostics
- Speak Giraffe
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a baby giraffe called?
A baby giraffe is called a calf.
What is a group of giraffes called?
A tower is the collective noun for giraffes. They are also called a herd.
Is the giraffe the tallest animal?
The giraffe is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth.
Do giraffes have more than one heart?
Giraffes have one heart, like all mammals, but it has special adaptations because of their height. It has strong muscles to pump blood around the body and extra valves to prevent backflow to its feet and limit back pressure from its neck.
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Link will appear as Giraffe Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 17, 2017
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.