Did You Know these Mesmerizing Giraffe Facts?

Here are some thrilling giraffe facts... A giraffe can attain a height of 18 feet. And it sleeps for only 20 minutes a day! Read on for more facts on giraffes.

• A male giraffe is called a bull, a female is called a cow and a baby giraffe is a calf

• A group of giraffes is called a herd.
• A male giraffe can attain a height of 18 feet and a female a height of 16 feet

• As is the case with other mammals, the giraffe's neck contains only 7 vertebrae. Anchor muscles on the giraffe's shoulders, however, help to prop up the neck.

• Even though the giraffe has a long neck, the giraffe's head cannot reach the ground without help. Hence to drink water, a giraffe has to bend its front legs.
• Male giraffes engage in "necking" duels to establish dominance amongst peers. Giraffes with longer necks are more likely to win these neck fights.

• A giraffe has a large heart that weights about 22 lbs and measures about 2 feet.
• A giraffe's front legs are about 10 percent longer than the back legs.

• Although giraffes normally move at a very laid-back pace, they can attain a speed of 34 miles per hour.

• Even though they appear lanky, a giraffe's legs are very powerful and a single giraffe kick can decapitate an African lion which is referred to as "the King of the African jungle" because of its strength.

• At an average 8 feet, giraffes' tails are some of the longest in the animal kingdom. At the end of the tail is a bunch of stiff, black hair.

• A giraffe's tongue is purplish-black tongue. Measuring about 18 inches in length, a giraffe's tongue is quite long.

• A giraffe's favorite food is the thorny acacia tree

• One of the fascinating giraffe facts is that these animals have antiseptic saliva which helps thorn-inflicted wounds on the tongue to heal fast.

• A giraffe sexually matures at between 3 and 4 years of age. A giraffe delivers one calf after a 15 months gestation.

• The giraffe cow delivers a single calf while standing. The calf, which falls out onto the ground is usually breastfeeding in an hour and running around in a couple of hours.

• At birth, a calf is already 6 feet tall, taller than the average human being.

• A giraffe's average life span is 25 years in the wild and more than 30 in captivity.
• Another interesting giraffe fact is that giraffes sleep for between 20 minutes to 2 hours a day.

• A giraffe consumes about 140 pounds of foliage a day. Like cattle, giraffes are ruminants with 4-chamber stomachs. They therefore re-chew their food several times, a process known as "chewing the curd."

• Africa is home to the entire wild giraffe population estimated at between 110,000 to 150,000.
• Kenya has a giraffe population of 45,000, the highest in the world and nearly one-third of all the world's giraffes. It is followed by Tanzania with a population of 30,000 and Botswana with 12,000.
• There are a total of 9 giraffe species.

• There are 3 giraffe species in Kenya: the Masai giraffe, the Reticulated giraffe and the Rothschild giraffe. These are distinguishable by the spots on their coats.

• The Reticulated giraffe (also known as the Somali Giraffe)'s coat has large polygon-shaped spots which are reddish-brown and are outlined in dazzling white. It is common in Northern Kenya in Samburu National Reserve and Buffalo Springs Reserve.

• The spots of a Masai giraffe are more jagged than those of the Reticulated Giraffe. It is common in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Amboseli National Park and Nairobi National Park.

• The Rothschild giraffe's patches are orange-brown. And, these patches' outlines are yellowish-cream rather than white. The best place to see the Rothschild giraffe is severely endangered and the best place to see the species is at the Giraffe Center in Nairobi.

Return from Giraffe Facts to Kenya Animals

Return from Giraffe Facts to Kenya Travel Packages Homepage