Facts about giraffe

Giraffe can be found throughout sub-Saharan Africa moving freely between the open grassland, shrubland, and wooded areas of the African savannah.

The Massai giraffe of northern Tanzania stand between 14 to 20 feet (4.2 to 6.0 meters) tall, have a life span of around 10 years, but have been known to live up to 27 years.

Group sizes ranges from one or two individuals to over 40, although small groups of a few individuals are the most common size. Group size generally depends on food availability.

Giraffes have black tongues. Although their neck is very long, they only have 7 vertebrae in their necks - just like humans!

Giraffes are normally silent, but calves can bleat and cows bellow to find their calves and they will also give warning snorts, moans, and hisses.

A baby giraffe is born alive and it's first experience of life is being dropped 6 foot (2 meters) to land on it's head at birth. Mothers defend their calves from predators by placing themselves between the predator and the infant, and by kicking the predator.

Giraffe are selective browsers, eating a wide variety of seasonally available leaves, fruits, and stems. Acacia leaves provide giraffes with their most important food source. They use their incredible height and pre-hensile tongues to reach leaves that most other animals cannot.

Giraffes may drink water when it is available, but during droughts, they can go for weeks without it. Water is less important for giraffes than for other large African mammals because their favorite food, Acacia leaves, contain a lot of water. The large surface area of a giraffes neck and legs helps them to keep cool. They have four stomachs (similar to a cow) where they can regurgitate their food to chew it completely.

Because of their size, lions are their main predator. Adults don’t have much of a problem but infant giraffes often fall prey to lions and may be occasional prey for leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, or crocodiles. As many as 70% of giraffe infants may die from predation during their first year of life.

If one giraffe among a group observes a potential threat, it usually stares fixedly in the direction of the threat, alerting nearby giraffe to the predator. Being watchful is a giraffe's first response to threats, but if a predator moves too close, they run.