Giraffe Facts 

Appearance

Giraffes have a really long neck, which allows them to eat leaves and vegetation that are high up in the trees. Giraffes contain the same amount of bones as other hoofed animals such as zebra, but theirs is longer in shape. Their long necks lead into a short body, with long straight legs, and a long tail. Their tail has a black tuft at the end to keep the flies away. Giraffes' are white with brown or reddish markings covering its body. The markings on a Giraffe are different for each individual, they are just like human fingerprints. Also, the markings tell the different species of giraffe. Giraffes have big eyes which gives them excellent vision. They have small horn-like ossicones on the top of their heads. Giraffes have multiple stomachs. They can eat around 75 pounds a day and with their four stomachs, each handling different functions to help on extremely efficient digestion of nutrients. 

Diet

Giraffes are herbivores. They can eat over 60 different species of plants. Giraffes use their long tongue to grab branches and use their lips to press down and strip the leaves off the branches. Giraffes usually eat acacia trees but they can also eat apricots, flowers, fruits, seeds, and grass after it rains. They get 70% of their water from the plants they eat. When giraffes see clean water they spread their front legs to get their head close to the water to drink it. Giraffes can go up to three weeks without drinking water. Giraffes can eat about 75 pounds in one day. If there is enough of water supply then Giraffes can drink about 10 gallons. 

Habitat

Giraffes used to live in north Africa. Now they mostly live in national parks in Africa. Giraffes inhabit open woodland and savannah. Their height allows them to see from far distances to prevent danger. The nine different species live on different countries of Africa. Giraffes feed on vegetation that is high in tree but also too woody for mouths of smaller herbivores. They are also able to remain in areas where domestic grazing has been destroyed the plant species close to the ground. Giraffes are very common in zoos such as the San Diego Zoo or the Bronx Zoo.

Reproduction

Giraffes breed year round. After finding a female to mate with, males go back to their solitary ways. The gestation period for a giraffe last for about 15 months. After about 15 months, females give birth to one single calf. Having twins is very rare. Calves are born about 2 meters tall (about 6 ft). They are born with unique spots. Calves look the same as adult giraffes but they are smaller and they will grow into adults. Female giraffes will usually take her calf away from the herd for about two weeks. They feed their calves their milk for about one year. Males are able to breed one year earlier than females, although they usually breed at the age of 8. Male and female young giraffes will join small groups, but males tend to become solitary as they grow older. 

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