Giraffe Description
A single species with nine recognized subspecies, the giraffe is an herbivore native to Africa that lives in the savanna areas south of the Sahara. Giraffes live to be between 15 and 20 years old in the wild.
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Scientific Name
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Because the giraffe was thought at one time to be a cross between a camel and leopard and was referred to as the camel-leopard, the giraffe was given the scientific name Giraffa cameleopardis. Giraffes were thought to be related to camels because of the humps on their backs, and to leopards because of the spotted coat pattern that is similar to leopards.
Eating Habits
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Acacia trees provide the primary source of food for giraffes, though they also eat grass and fruit. Giraffes consume between 15 and 75 pounds of food a day, though most eat about 65 pounds. Using their long tongues, giraffes are able to bypass the thorns that prevent other animals from eating acacia leaves. The water content in acacia leaves allows giraffes to go without water for several days.
When they are digesting their food, giraffes may chew cud like cows do. This is due to their being ruminants, animals with multiple stomach chambers. Giraffes have four compartments to their stomachs.
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Size
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Giraffes are the tallest land mammals. A male giraffe grows from 6 feet at birth and between 100 and 150 to about 18 feet tall and 3,000 pounds. Females grow to approximately 14 feet and weigh about half that of males. Their necks and legs alone are each about 6 feet long and their tails can grow to 8 feet in length.
Herd Behavior
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Giraffes live in loose herds without a true dominant leader, though males fight for dominance by swinging their necks against one another to find out who is strongest.
During the day, the young giraffes, which are called calves and are too young to eat with the herd, are kept together in a group with one female to watch over them. The other females go out to feed and switch out occasionally with the one left to watch the calves.
Horns
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Both male and female giraffes have hair-covered horns, or ossicones, on their heads. Males play-fight with one another using the horns, which results in calcium deposits building up on their heads and forming what looks like more horns.
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References
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