giraffe

Class Mammalia (mammal)
Order Artiodactyla (odd-toed hooved mammals)
Family Giraffidae (Giraffes)

Shoulder height - about 5,5 meters
Adult weight - about 1500 Kg.
Diet -The giraffe feeds mainly on Acacia and Combretum trees, but will eat as many as 100 different plants depending on which are available at the time. Since giraffes have such long necks, they can reach a 6-foot band of foliage that is above the reach of all other animals except the elephant. The giraffe will use its upper lip and long tongue to strip the leaves, shoots, flowers and vines from the trees. It needs 75 pounds per day of vegetation. However, it only drinks water every 2 to 3 days when it is available and can go for weeks without drinking any. The giraffe gets a large amount of water from the dew on the leaves and from the water in the leaves. When it encounters a watering hole, it will drink up to 12 gallons of water at one time. Giraffes have four stomachs just like cows.
Preditors- the young giraffes are hunted by lions, hyena, leopards, and African wild dogs. A mother will stand over her calf to protect against the lions, which run the risk of getting killed by a kick from the mother's powerful legs. Even with this protection, 50 to 75 percent of all calves are killed during the first few months. For the survivors, the life expectancy is 20 to 25 years
Age at sexual maturity 6 years
Gestation period - 14 to 15 months
No of young - 1

The giraffe is the tallest mammal in the world. The males stand about 5m tall -- as tall as a single-storeyed house -- and the females are just a little shorter.

The giraffe has an incredibly long neck and legs, high shoulders and a sloping back. The tapering head has two to five short horns. A giraffe's horns are covered with skin and are biggest on the males. They are often used as weapons of defence. The giraffe has mobile hairy lips and large eyes, always alert for enemies. Its pale buff coat is blotched with brown patches. The giraffe has a massive heart which pumps at a pressure two or three times that of a healthy man to push blood up its long neck. Class Mammalia (mammal) Order Artiodactyla (odd-toed hooved mammals) Family Giraffidae (Giraffes) A giraffe weighs over 1000 kg and has a life span of about 20-30 years.

Giraffes sometimes lie down with their legs are folded under the body. But standing up is quite a task! To rise, the forelegs are first half unfolded with the neck swung back to take the weight off the forelegs. The neck is swung forward again, this time to take the weight off the hind legs. By repeating this movement, the animal finally gets to its feet. Since getting up is so awkward, the giraffe mostly sleeps standing.

The giraffe's long neck enables it to browse on the leaves of trees. Thus, it does not need to compete with other leaf-eaters feeding lower down. A male giraffe stretches high up into a tree for food, while the female feeds at shoulder height. Giraffes eat leaves of many kinds of trees, but acacia trees are their favourites. They also eat seed pods, flowers and fruits using their mobile lips and tongue to pluck them from the trees. The tongue can be stretched almost 45 cm to gather food. The canine teeth, shaped like a comb, are used to strip leaves from a branch. Giraffes can chew on thorny acacia twigs, and have also been seen chewing bones! They drink water only when it is readily available and can go for longperiods without it.

Giraffes walk slowly unless disturbed. When a giraffe senses danger, it can flee quickly on its long legs. A giraffe can gallop at 50kph with its neck rocking rhythmically to pull its weight forwards. The only time a giraffe is really vulnerable to its one natural enemy, the lion, is when it is drinking. With its forelegs spread apart and neck lowered, the giraffe is positioned awkwardly. This is the moment a lion might attack.

Giraffes are gentle and timid animals and live in loose social groups. Male giraffes often stay alone, joining the females only to mate. The strongest adult bull mates with the females in an area. A single calf is born after a pregnancy of 16 months. The newborn is able to walk within an hour after birth. The newborn calf is about 1.8m high and weighs about 48 kg. The young one grows very fast as giraffe's milk has a high fat content. The mother nurses the young for about 10 months. After that, the baby fends for itself.