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February 15, 2006
African Field Notes: The Giraffe
Giraffes are the tallest land mammal, adults growing up to about 18 ft tall.
Very thick drool and a long tongue almost 2 feet long help them to eat acacia trees with wicked thorns. The drool allows them to swallow the thorns without mesing up their digestive systems.
Giraffe's have a special circulatory system. They have very large and powerful hearts that can generate double the normal blood pressure for a large mammal in order to maintain blood flow to the brain against gravity. They have unusually elastic blood vessels with a series of valves that help offset the sudden buildup of blood (and to prevent fainting) when the head is raised, lowered or swung quickly.
Adult Giraffes are too large to be attacked by most predators, and a single blow from their hind leg can kill a lion.
You'll often see them in the same area as lions — always watching the predator — instead of running from it.
Young giraffes can fall prey to Lions, Leopards, hyenas, and African Wild Dogs. They are a predator favorite, causing fewer than 50% of young to reach adulthood.
The little giraffe to the left was about 6 feet tall. We saw it in the same place for three days in a row, near both of its parents. It would often hide behind a little bush with no leaves on it, as if we couldn't see it.
Latin Name: Giraffa camelopardalis
A Group Is Called: A Tower or Journey (More At: Critter Collectives)
Check out our Safari South Africa podcast - an audio program and a video that features this animal!
Posted by sorsha at February 15, 2006 9:40 PM
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Comments
I am in LOVE with giraffes!!! It's nice to know that adults giraffes can't be attacked, but I feel sorry for the babies.
:( This is an awesome site! Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Katie | April 29, 2007 1:14 PM
i didnt know that much about giraffes, i was just looking at animal pictures just to see how interesting the animals were and i found ur website site. its kool i like it.
Posted by: bianca | May 8, 2007 7:35 PM
i think giraffes are the cutiest animal ever they are so amazing to watch. They run all day and play all the time. They are a lot better than other animals because they are a lot more boring because they dont run and play all day long.
Posted by: Kimberley | June 8, 2007 5:04 AM
I LOVE GIRFFES BECAUSE THEY ARE SO CUTE I JUST LOVE THEM TO MY HEART AND I WISH THAT I COULD BE WITH A GIRFFE RIGHT NOW
Posted by: KIMBERLEY | September 11, 2007 11:55 AM
Giraffes are awesome, Kimberley. I agree! It sounds like you need a trip to Africa, or at LEAST a trip to one of the better zoos like San Diego Wild Animal Park, where you can feed them!
Posted by: Lauren Darcey | September 12, 2007 10:02 AM
Omg I love this - I love giraffes - so cute
I saw a hunting picture on the internet: they shot a giraffe in the forehead and it broke my heart
who wants to stop that cruel stuff!
(Editor Note: Edited for content/privacy)
Posted by: Amy | December 3, 2007 2:31 PM
Hi Amy,
I agree that giraffes in general, while at low risk for extinction, should not be hunted unless populations become unsustainably large. It's an ongoing debate as to whether legal African hunting helps or hinders the health of African bush ecosystems.
Giraffes in general are listed as: Conservation Dependent on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, some of the nine subspecies of giraffe are in danger:
Posted by: Laurie Darcey | December 6, 2007 6:12 PM
FYI: The giraffe pictures - I could be wrong... but
The drinking giraffe was in South Africa (Kruger National Park)... so a South African Giraffe (?)
The Two giraffes and the young giraffe are likely Masai giraffes with their jagged spots. Taken in Kenya at Amboseli National Park.
The bottom two pictures are likely the Reticulated giraffes (smooth spots). Those were taken in San Diego Wild Animal Park.
Posted by: Lauren Darcey | December 6, 2007 6:29 PM
i love girrafes they are amazing creatures and fun to learn about. your website is helping me wiht a project so thanks
Posted by: sumer brown | December 20, 2007 8:21 AM
We can also feed giraffes at the zoo in Tucson, Arizona.
Posted by: Mary Jane Schumacher | February 22, 2008 10:09 AM
I totally adore giraffes, have lots of giraffe type things at home and on my desk at work. I saw them for the first time in person at Chester Zoo last year, to think people hunt them is heart-breaking :( Poaching/hunting them should be banned
Posted by: Pammy | April 6, 2008 12:34 PM
Giraffe are very majestic. There is no worries on Adult ones but on the side of young ones, it is so horrible [they are vulnerable].
[Editor's Note: Edited for readability]
Posted by: Abiraj | June 13, 2008 12:52 AM
i love giraffes!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Chelsea | November 20, 2009 6:49 AM