Because of their adaptability and demeanour, they are also common on small farms and private collections. Giraffe are common, and found in all of Africa’s large national parks and game reserves. They will either sleep standing up, or sitting down, and actual sleep occurs in short spurts of a few minutes at a time.Ī family herd of giraffes in Uganda | The best places to see giraffe in the wild Giraffes have one of the lowest sleep requirements in the animal kingdom, only sleeping for around four hours a day. This can be as small as 95 square kilometres in wet regions, or as large as 1,500 square kilometres in dry regions. They are non-territorial, but will usually stick to a home range. Giraffe mother and calf | Rodney Nombekana tend to leave the herd and form bachelor groups, while its more common for females to stick with the herd. Youngsters will stay with their mothers for 18-24 months before becoming independent. (2 meters) tall and are able to walk alongside their mother within a few hours. This is usually only seen in mothers with young calves, and it’s not uncommon for herd members to move off and join another herd.Ĭalves are born at 7ft. They are a social species, but don’t form strong family bonds like other species. Giraffes live in herds of between five and twenty individuals on average, although huge herds of up to fifty can be observed at times. Although they only ever run this fast when trying to escape a hunting pride of lions. They can reach speeds of up to 100 miles and hour (60km/h) at full.
Giraffe leaning down to drink | Sean Viljoen How fast are giraffes?ĭespite their placid demeanour and gangly appearance, giraffes are actually very fast! In order to get low enough to drink, giraffes have to spread their legs wide apart to allow for them to sufficiently lower themselves to the water.
In addition to this, the giraffe also can’t lean forward or bend its front legs. Interestingly, a giraffe’s neck is actually too short to reach the ground due to the animal’s incredibly long legs. This means they can survive in very arid and harsh environments. Acacia trees have been found to be the giraffe’s preferred food source, despite evidence suggesting these browsers may feed on more than 90 varieties of foliage.Ī giraffe will always drink when water is available, but don’t need large amounts of water to survive. Their incredible height allows them to feed on leaves not accessible to any other species. They can even survive on as little as 15lbs. Despite feeding for between 16 and 20 hours per day, these giant herbivores will generally only eat around 66lbs. Giraffes are some of the most picky eaters in the bush. It is thought that females also find longer necks more attractive. Male giraffes use their necks to fight one another, and those with the longer neck generally have an advantage. In order to be able to drink without losing consciousness, the giraffe’s neck contains special veins and valves that regulate the flow of blood to its head. (2 meters) of the animal’s overall height. In fully grown adults, the neck can contribute to more than 7ft. The giraffe’s most distinguishing feature is its unusually long neck. Giraffe interaction at Giraffe Manor, Kenya | How long is a giraffes neck?
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Despite reaching full height at fours years old, they continue to fill out, and will grow until around seven years old. Mature bulls are very heavy and can weight over two tonnes, while females tend to max out at just over one ton. A giraffe will reach its maximum height at just 4 years old. Southern African subspecies are usually slightly smaller. In east Africa, adult males can grow to more than 18 feet (5.5 meters) tall, while females usually max out at about 14 feet (4.5 meters). Giraffes vary in size according to geographic location.
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