During copulation, male giraffes stand almost straight up on their hind legs, resting their front legs along the female's flanks, an awkward posture that would be unsustainable for more than a few minutes. Giraffes spend about 18 hours a day feeding on tree leaves, shrubs, and even grass at times. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Females weigh between 1,600 and 2,600 pounds and stand about 16 feet tall. Our solutions to saving the world's tallest land animal from extinction: AWF has reforested acacia trees in West Africa to provide more food for the giraffe and allow it to expand its habitat. However, an insufficiently wary giraffe can easily be ambushed at a water hole, since it has to adopt an ungainly posture when taking a drink. The number of giraffes in the wild is shrinking as their habitats shrink. Adult giraffes have about 27-inch long …

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Their geographical range spans from Chad in north to South Africa in south. Giraffes are classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), because of ongoing habitat loss (deforestation, land use conversion, expansion of agriculture and human population growth), civil unrest (ethnic violence, rebel militias, paramilitary and military operations), illegal hunting (poaching), and ecological changes (climate change, mining activity). Considering that a single adult male giraffe needs about 100 pounds of food per day, it is difficult to imagine how much food a herd of 8 – 10 giraffes would require throughout their lifetime? While these browsers’ diverse diets have been reported to contain up to 93 different plant species, acacia trees have been found to be their favorite food source. Herds have a home range that averages about 100 square miles, and the herds intersect, sharing one another's ranges without a social issue. On the top of a giraffe's head are ossicones, unique structures that are neither horns nor ornamental bumps; rather, they're hardened bits of cartilage covered by skin and anchored firmly to the animal's skull. At 5.5 meters, the giraffe is no doubt the tallest animal on the Earth.

German ecologist Axel Janke has argued that multi-local DNA analysis of giraffe genetic structure shows that there are actually four separate giraffe species: These suggestions are not accepted by all scholars. Giraffes will move to where they need to to find food. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. We've created informative articles that you can come back to again and again when you have questions or want to learn more! Giraffes can inhabit savannas, grasslands or open woodlands. Well, we're looking for good writers who want to spread the word. Their huge neck only has 7 vertebrae. In the late 19th and 20th centuries herds of 20 to 30 animals were recorded, now on average herd sizes contain fewer than six individuals. Young bachelor males who are old enough to fend for themselves form temporary herds of between 10 and 20, essentially training camps in which they play and challenge each other before leaving the group to become isolates. Calves are about two meters tall and grow rapidly as much as two and a half centimeters a day. Sexual maturation occurs about 5 years of age, and females generally have their first calves at 5–6 years. Have you ever wondered why giraffes have such long, spindly legs and a gigantic neck? Herds forage together.

Although few predators attack adults, lions, hyenas, and leopards take their toll on the young. They practice what adult males do during mating season, for instance: male giraffes will engage in "necking," in which two combatants jostle one another and attempt to land blows with their ossicones. When they see abundant water, they just gulp it. Their necks contain the same amount of vertebrae as we do (seven) except their bones are extremely elongated making their neck a long length of 2.4 meters.

We educate communities living near giraffes on the importance of sustainable practices for agricultural and settlement growth by providing training on sustainable — and more productive — agricultural practices and incentivizing conservation agriculture when appropriate.

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Donate now. Like camels, they don't need to drink on a daily basis. As human populations grow and increase agricultural activities, expand settlements, and construct roads, the giraffe is losing its beloved acacia trees, which are its main source of food. It's unclear what the purpose of ossicones are; they may help males to intimidate one another during mating season, they may be a sexually selected characteristic (that is, males with more impressive ossicones may be more attractive to females), or they may even help to dissipate heat in the blazing African sun. We are losing our natural wealth and disturbing the environment, which has already proved to be a reason for extinction of several species … and going by the current trends, the giraffe may as well be the next to go.

Technically, giraffes are classified as artiodactyls, or even-toed ungulates—which puts them in the same mammalian family as whales, pigs, deer, and cows, all of which evolved from a "last common ancestor" that probably lived sometime during the Eocene epoch, about 50 million years ago. In some countries in southern Africa, hunting giraffes is legal, especially where populations are increasing. While that may seem a vast range for a single species, the fact is that today, they are only found in small pockets in this ‘vast’ area. Interestingly, they have now adapted to this problem. Giraffe habitat comprises dry open woodlands, savannas, and other regions where vegetation and foliage are relatively dense. Each adult giraffe weighs about 1,700 pounds and needs as much as 75 pounds of plants each day. If at all, you can find them in the areas covered by Acacia, a kind of spiny tree or shrub, on which they feast. Habitat Giraffes range in the wild throughout Africa, but are most often found are in combined savannas and woodlands. Did you know that the destruction of their native habitat by humans has seriously affected the giraffe population?

They have a diverse diet which can include as much as 93 different species of plants; but typically, only about a half dozen of those plants make up 75 percent of their summer diets. Giraffes are a common sight in grasslands and open woodlands in East Africa, where they can be seen in reserves such as Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Giraffe Habitat and Distribution. The most common herd is made up of adult females and their calves, and a few males—these are typically between 10 and 20 individuals, although some can grow as large as 50. The valves in the veins in their neck ensures that they don’t faint when they bend down to drink water. Their upper lip, and pink and black tongue, help them pluck fresh leaves, delicate shoots, and tasty flowers from trees. The gestation period for giraffes is approximately 15 months.

There are also isolates, male bulls who live alone. If at all, you can find them in the areas covered by Acacia, a kind of spiny tree or shrub, on which they feast.

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