36 Interesting Facts about Giraffes.

Thank you for stopping at Factsking.com for your Giraffe facts! Below are 36 interesting facts about Giraffes. If you are interested in these animal facts, don’t forget to check out our other animal facts!

 

Giraffe Diet

1. Because a Giraffe’s neck is too short for their body, they have to shuffle their legs, so they can reach the ground to drink water.
2. Because Giraffes get most of their diet from leaves, this is how they usually get their water. They don’t have to find water on the ground to drink very often, usually only every 3-4 days, as the leaves tend to keep them hydrated pretty well.
3. Because Giraffes are so tall, their diet is mainly the leaves and twigs on the tops of trees.
4. A Giraffe also eats bones. Because their massive bodies require a lot of calcium, but they don’t eat other animals, they get the majority of their calcium by eating the bones of animals who are already dead.
5. The Giraffes favorite tree to eat the top of is the acacia tree.
6. In one day, the Giraffe can eat about 100 pounds or 99 kg of food, which is mainly leaves and twigs.

 

Facts about Giraffe Size

7. The Giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. They stand at around 13 to 16 feet or 4 to 5 meters once they are fully grown. However, the tallest Giraffe grew to almost 6 meters or nearly 20 feet!
8. The Giraffes weighs over 4,000 pounds, which is about 1,900 kg.
9. The Giraffes foot is about 11 inches or 30 cm. in diameter.
10. A Giraffe’s tongue is a bluish-purple color and can be as long as 17 to 20 feet or 45 to 50 cm.
11. The Giraffe’s heart can weigh as much as 24 pounds or 11 kg.

 

Giraffe Characteristics

12. Even though the Giraffe is the tallest animal with the longest neck, they only have seven vertebrae, which is the same number as the neck of a person.
13. Because the Giraffe’s brain is protected by capillaries, the animal will not faint if it stands up too quickly.
14. Giraffes are a bit different from normal four-legged animals when they walk as they swing both their legs on the same side about the same time.
15. The Giraffe’s horns become useful during the adult life as it helps fight when they are protecting themselves.
16. The horns on a Giraffe are not attached to their skull when they are born, however, as they grow the horns fuse to the skull.
17. The gestation period for a Giraffe is about 15 months.
18. Each Giraffe has its own pattern.
19. Giraffes have a nasal cooling system and their colors and patterns on their bodies help regulate their body temperature.
20. A Giraffe’s typical lifespan is around 25 years; however, some giraffes have been known to live as long as 40 years.

 

Facts about Giraffe Behaviors

21. Giraffes give birth standing up.
22. A baby Giraffe can walk within an hour after being born.
23. Giraffes are very social animals and tend to travel in small groups known as towers.
24. A tower will generally consist of one leader, who is a male Giraffe, and around 14 other female Giraffes and their children.
25. The female Giraffe will often return to where she was born when she is going to give birth herself.
26. Giraffes stand up when they sleep because when they lay down, it puts them in a vulnerable position.
27. If a Giraffe does lay down, its only for a quick nap, which is usually no longer than a few minutes.

 

Giraffe Threats

28. Currently, Giraffes are not on the endangered species list, but they are under the list of least concern.
29. Some of the biggest predators Giraffes need to look out for are hyenas and lions.
30. Giraffes use the length of the neck to great advantage when looking out for their predators. Because of their height, they are able to see danger coming for them a lot sooner than many other animals.

 

Giraffe Habitat

31. Giraffes have changed their habitat from living mainly in West and Southern Africa to sub-Sarahan Africa.

 

Shocking Giraffe Facts

32. NASA has done research on the blood vessels in a Giraffe’s leg to help them evolve their spacesuits.
33. Giraffes are thought to have evolved around seven to eight million years ago.

 

Giraffe Family

34. There are actually four species of Giraffes. They include the Reticulated Giraffe, Northern Giraffe, Masai Giraffe, and Southern Giraffe.
35. The Giraffe is part of the Giraffidae family.
36. The only other species that is included to be in the family with okapi.

 

I hope that you learned a lot from these facts about giraffes. If you are interested in learning facts about other animals, visit animal facts page.