Giraffe
The tallest living terrestrial animals, known for their long necks and spotted coats.
Giraffes (genus Giraffa) are large African hoofed mammals. They are the tallest living terrestrial animals and the largest ruminants on Earth. They are classified under the family Giraffidae, along with their closest extant relative, the okapi. Traditionally, giraffes have been thought of as one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into four extant species, with seven subspecies, which can be distinguished morphologically by their fur coat patterns. Six valid extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.
- Scientific Name:
- Giraffa
- Family:
- Giraffidae
- Dietary Classification:
- Herbivore (Browser)
- Habitat:
- African savannas, woodlands, and grasslands
- Conservation Status:
- Vulnerable
Lore & Background
Giraffes have intrigued various ancient and modern cultures for their peculiar appearance and have often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. They have been extirpated from many parts of their former range. The name 'giraffe' has its earliest known origins in the Arabic word, of an ultimately unclear Sub-Saharan African language origin. 'Camelopard' is an archaic English name for the giraffe, deriving from Ancient Greek words for 'camel' and 'leopard', referring to its camel-like shape and leopard-like colouration.
In Their Own Story
The sun bleeds gold across the Serengeti as a lone bull giraffe tests the wind. His tongue, dark and prehensile like a leather strap, deftly strips thorns from an acacia branch high above the scrub. Below, lions sleep in the shade, unaware of the silent giant watching over them. With a slow, rocking gait that belies his speed, he turns toward the horizon where the herd waits, his long legs carrying him across the vast, golden grass with effortless, rhythmic strides.
Reader's Guide
Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other ground-based herbivores cannot reach. Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males but are gregarious and may gather in large groups. Males establish social hierarchies through 'necking', combat bouts in which they use the neck as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for rearing the young.
Did You Know?
- Giraffes are the tallest living terrestrial animals and the largest ruminants on Earth.
- Their scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east.
- Estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild.
- More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in 2010.
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