Giraffes are the tallest animals on Earth. Moreover, not only growth distinguishes giraffes from other animals.

The animal’s head is not like any other: upright ears, blunt and short horns of up to five, long black eyelashes that frame large expressive eyes. The tongue of giraffes can amaze with its length and color. Giraffes are rare.

In zoos, as a rule, there are no proper conditions for care. However, if they are found, then their enclosures are a little dug in the ground or occupy several tiers. So you can fully consider this magnificent animal.

Giraffes are calm, treat people well. However, before people hunted animals, because of which many individuals died, so now people began to approach hunting issues more carefully.

Interesting fact: The giraffe steps 4 meters. During running, he uses primarily his front legs.

Origin of the species

It is difficult to think that giraffes have ancestors among other animals. The structure and appearance of animals is too specific. Scientists have suggested that giraffes appeared 20 million years ago. Most likely their ancestors were deer-like artiodactyls. Beasts live in Asia and Africa. Most likely animals appeared in Asia and spread further in the African savannahs.

The oldest remains of animals found are only one and a half million years old. They were found in Africa and Israel. It is assumed that this is one species that has survived to our time. It is believed that many species of animals have become extinct. Based on the found remains, animals try to recreate the original picture of the habitats and sizes of giraffes. Subsequently, there was only one species of animal that we can observe now.

Description

There are no animals above giraffes. Growth of adult males reaches 5.7 m to the horns, 3.3 to the shoulder. The length of the neck in males reaches 2.4 meters. Females are shorter by about a meter. The weight of adult males is 1.93 tons, and females 1.18 tons. Cubs are born with the ability to walk and weigh up to 55 kilograms. The growth of a baby giraffe is about two meters.

Giraffes have elongated strong limbs. The front legs of the animals are slightly longer than the hind legs. Seven elongated vertebrae are located in the neck. The back of animals is sloping, the tail is long and thin. At the tip of the tail is a brush designed to drive away flies and other annoying insects. Horns of giraffes are in fact simple bone growths on top of which the skin and hair are located.

Interesting fact: Giraffe spots are unique, as are human fingerprints.

Females also have horns. They are shorter and crowned with tassels. A bone growth is sometimes mistaken for a horn. A striking feature of animals are large expressive eyes, surrounded by a shock of black eyelashes. The tongue of giraffes is large, flexible. Thanks to him, animals can capture green from the very tops of the tree.

Giraffe color

The color of animals is worth paying attention to - large, medium and small spots are located throughout the body of the giraffe. This pattern is unique to each giraffe.as well as people's fingerprints.

All giraffes are spotty. Color varies according to habitat. The subtypes of giraffes are colored differently. Characteristic spots are large, medium or small. They cover the entire body of the beast and do not change throughout its life. However, the coat may take on different shades due to changes in climatic conditions, health and season.

Giraffe legs

The legs appear thin compared to the rest of the body. However, despite this, animals can run perfectly. Giraffes reach speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour. Giraffes can also jump, jumping over obstacles more than 1.5 meters in height. However, animals can run fast only on solid soil.Everglades and rivers, animals bypass.

Area

Giraffes used to be full of the African mainland. Across the plain surface, one could meet many species of animals. Now they can only be seen in certain areas. Giraffes inhabit eastern Africa, such as Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya, as well as in some areas of central Africa, such as Niger and Chad.

Habitat

They prefer to settle in the tropical steppes, where trees rarely grow. Water is not very important for animals, so they can settle away from water bodies. The local location of giraffes is associated with their gastronomic preferences. Mostly they settle around lush shrubs and trees.

Giraffes get along well with other ungulates. They have no competition for food - antelopes feed on grass, giraffes on foliage. Herds of giraffes, antelopes and other ungulates are often found together. These individuals can live together for a long time, eating their food. However, over time, they begin to diverge in search of new food.

How tall is a giraffe?

Males grow up to five and a half meters (the highest individual has a height of 6.1 meters), while females are lower by an average of one meter.

How many giraffes live?

In vivo, giraffes live 25 years. They live in zoos for more than 30 years. and feel great. For the first time, giraffes were brought to Egyptian and Roman zoos in the period of about 1.5 thousand years BC. However, animals were brought to European countries only at the beginning of the last century. They were brought to European countries on large sailing ships. After that, all transportation was carried out on the ground. So that the animals did not erase the hooves, they put on leather covers, and over the body they threw cloth from the rain. Animals took root well in zoos and began to breed. Now anyone can look at these graceful creatures anywhere in the world.

How do giraffes sleep?

It is difficult to imagine how so large animals sleep. Indeed, sleeping for giraffes presents some difficulties. Some individuals adapted to sleep standing, leaning slightly on large trees. Others curl up, bending their legs under themselves. Sleep for animals is not very important - they spend in this state up to two hours a day. In captivity, the giraffe sleeps 4-6 hours. Sometimes during sleep, animals lay their heads on their hind limbs, creating a large arch. During sleep, the eyes of the animals are half closed, the ears twitch slightly.

Breeding

Giraffes are polygamous animals. At the same time, males protect their ladies from other males. Mating games are interesting to watch. First, the male analyzes the smell of the female’s secretions, after which he rubs his head near the sacrum of the lady and puts her head on her back. After resting, the male licks the tail of his passion, raising the forelimb.

The female can take courtship of the male and raise the tail. Mating games take place in the rainy seasons. Cubs are born in a drought - in the interval from the end of spring to the end of summer. Females can breed every one and a half to two years. Pregnancy lasts 457 days. Childbirth occurs in a standing position. Large cubs, up to two meters tall, immediately get to their feet and reach for milk. One female gives birth to no more than two cubs.

Interesting fact: Giraffe calves already have horns from birth.

Young hiding constantly throughout the first week of life. With their mother, the cubs stay a little more than a year. Independence begins depending on the sex of the animals. Females remain with the herd, while males live alone until the moment they create their own herd. There they will become dominant males. Females can begin mating with 3-4 years. Maturity of males comes in 4-5 years. However, the period of courtship games begins with only seven for both sexes.

Three weeks after the birth of the baby go to nursery. So mothers can leave their offspring in search of food. Females take turns watching children in the same group. Thanks to the manger, the females depart to a distance of 0.2 km from the herd.Until the moment when it begins to get dark, mothers return to their cubs, protect them from dangers and feed them with milk.

Lifestyle

Animals live in herds of up to twenty individuals. Sometimes large herds are found, where up to seventy individuals live. Individual animals join the herds or leave them of their own free will. In one herd there are several males, females, cubs. All animals of different ages. Moreover, females are considered more socialized animals than males.

Giraffes eat and drink only in the evening and in the morning. In the hot season, animals chew gum, but they can do it all the time. Males establish the dominant of the herd in a duel. The battle takes place between two males. They become close and begin to go forward, holding their necks horizontally forward. After this, the necks and heads intertwine, leaning against each other. So individuals appreciate the power of the enemy. Then the animals become opposite each other and beat the enemy with their neck and head. Such attacks have tremendous power, can knock the enemy down or cause serious damage.

Communication and perception

Animals rarely make at least some sounds. For this reason, for a long time they were considered silent or dumb. Giraffes communicate with each other in infrasound. From time to time you can hear grunts or a quiet whistle. In times of danger, giraffes make grunting and snorting sounds, warning relatives.

Mothers whistle with cubs. Calves can get lost and mothers roar during searches so that they find a herd by voice. Calves also bleat or meow in response. When courtship begins, males “cough”.

Due to their high growth, animals see over long distances. Thus, they can maintain constant visual contact with relatives at long distances. Thanks to their sharp vision, they can also see the approaching predators.

Nutrition - what does a giraffe eat?

The main diet of giraffes is made up of tree leaves, seeds and fruits. In some parts of the savannah, the surface is filled with minerals and salts, so there giraffes feed on soil.

Animals belong to ruminants with a four-chambered stomach. During travel, animals constantly chew gum, increasing the time interval until the next feeding. They have long tongues, thanks to which it is possible to get food even from the tallest trees.

Most of the food is foliage from Senegalese acacias, small flowered combretums, apricots, bashful mimoses. The main diet is acacia. Giraffes grab a branch with their lips, tearing foliage, arching their heads. The plant has spikes that are easy to grind with the strong teeth of the beast. During the day the animal eats up to 66 kilograms of food. However, if food is in short supply, the giraffe survives on seven kilograms of food. Males feed on what is at a height near the head and neck, and females - near the body and knees. In this case, females choose only the most high-calorie foliage.

Enemies of giraffes

The main enemies of the population are lions. Often during hunting for animals, leopards and hyenas are noticed. However, adult animals can protect themselves with hooves. Crocodiles may lie in wait for giraffes.

Most predatory animals prey on young animals, old or crippled animals. Thanks to the spotted color of giraffes is not so easy to detect.

Role in the ecosystem

Giraffes and buffalo starlings live in symbiosis. The back and neck of the animal is cleaned by birds from various parasites. At the same time, birds get food.

Interesting fact: For a long time it was believed that animals were silent. However, experts later found out that giraffes are able to make a ton of different sounds.

Giraffe and man

In zoos and reserves with giraffes, most of the profits come from them. Previously, mammals were massively killed for valuable hides, meat, to have fun. In rare cases, the skin was used to create musical instruments. Thick animal skin was suitable for creating buckets, whips, belts.

Security status

Most of the time, in certain parts of the range of animals, the population remained stable. In the remaining parts of the animals were killed for valuable hides. Giraffe populations are still common in eastern and southern Africa. However, in the western population decreased.

The priority is to preserve the giraffe population. In areas where large mammals have left, giraffes persist. The trend is observed due to a decrease in the amount of natural competition.

Subspecies - photo

Initially, the division into subspecies of giraffes was invented by Richard Lidecker based on his observations on the difference in color of animals, his work was reviewed by Krumbigel and Doug. The result of research was the classic subspecies classification of species. Thanks to the study, animals were divided northern and southern subspecies

Northern subspecies

Reticulated Giraffe

Reticulated giraffes are known by another name - Somali. They live in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia. In Latin, the subspecies is called Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata.

The peculiarity of the giraffes of this subspecies is the spots on the body in the form of a grid of thin white stripes separating the pointed red-brown spots. Such marks are located below the hock. Bone growths on the head are found only in males. About 5 thousand individuals of this subspecies remain in the world. In zoos there are 450 such giraffes.

West African Giraffe

West African (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) or Nigerian giraffes are an endemic subspecies common in southwestern Niger. Lighter than other varieties. In nature, there are 220 individuals. Earlier, the Cameroonian giraffes were reckoned to the subspecies by mistake.

Nubian giraffe

The Nubian species of giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) lives in the East African part. Mostly in Sudan, southwest Ethiopia. Throughout the body of the animals of this subspecies, chestnut-colored spots are located. Around each spot are white and light lines.

The bone growth on the head is more pronounced in males. About 250 animals of this subspecies remain in the natural environment. However, these data are still not confirmed. Animals are extremely difficult to find in zoos. A small number of Nubian giraffes are found in the UAE in Al Ain. In 2003, there were 14 giraffes.

Cordofan Giraffe

Kordofan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum) lives in the southern part of the Garden, in the Central African Republic, northern Cameroon, northeast DR Congo. The spots are placed unevenly, can be below the hock, or on the inside of the limbs. In the wild, there are about 3 thousand individuals, and in zoos - 65.

Southern subspecies of giraffes

Masai giraffe

Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) live in southern Kenya, Tanzania. The spots are serrated, unevenly distributed, located on the legs. Bone growths are found mainly in males. In nature, 40 thousand animals remained, and in zoos 100.

South African Giraffe

South African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis capensis) lives in the north of South Africa, the southern region of Botswana, Zimbabwe, as well as in southwestern Mozambique. The spots are dark, slightly rounded. The rest of the body is reddish. The spots decrease as they approach the ground. In the world there are about 12 thousand animals. 45 in the zoos.

Angolan Giraffe

An Angolan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis) or Namibian giraffe lives in western Zimbabwe, northern Namibia and in the southwestern regions of Zambia. The animals are characterized by large brown spots, crowned with teeth and sharp corners. Drawings can be found throughout the body, except for the upper part of the muzzle. On the neck in the sacral part of the spots a little less. In nature, 20 thousand individuals, in zoos - 20.

Giraffe Rothschild

Giraffe Rothschild (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) lives in some areas of Kenya and Uganda. Large dark spots with smooth contours are located throughout the body of animals. Sharp edges are sometimes found. Approximately 700 animals remained in nature and more than 450 in zoos.

Interesting fact: Giraffes are the tallest land mammals in the world.

Giraffe Thornicroft

Tornicroft Giraffe lives in eastern Zambia.The spots are serrated, sometimes in the shape of stars, sometimes on the feet. Bone growths in males are poorly developed. About 1.5 thousand animals remained in nature.

Some subspecies were excluded in 1997 during the division into 4 ecological types of animals. Some species were considered intermediate or hybrid forms:

• Somali arid giraffes, together with the traditional varieties of camelopardalis, reticulata.
• Sub-Sahara, together with peralta.
• Northern savannah (cottoni congoensis).
• Southern savannah, along with tippelskirchi, angolensis, thornicrofti.