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Giraffe camelopardalis, which means 'the fast-walking camel-leopard'.
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Giraffes are the tallest of all land animals.
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Groups of giraffes are called herds, although they differ from the herds of most other animals. A giraffe herd can consist of anywhere from 2 to 50 animals.
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Giraffes are one of the largest and strongest animals on earth is also one of the most peaceful.
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Adult male giraffes are called bulls, adult females are cows and a younger giraffe of either sex is a calf.
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Adult male giraffes height range from 14 feet to as much as 20 feet and weigh about 2800 pounds.
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An average female giraffe reaches 14 to 15 feet.
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Giraffes can live as long as 27 years., however, their average life span is about 10 years.
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A giraffe's kick can kill a lion.
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A large male giraffe can eat as much as 100 pounds of food a day.
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When a giraffe goes into a deep sleep - for about one minute at a time - it curls its neck back and rests its head on its rump. Giraffes sleep no more than 5 to 30 minutes in a 24 hour period.
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Giraffes from different parts of Africa have different coat patterns. scientists agree that there is only one species of giraffe.
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The darker the spots, the older the giraffe.
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An adult giraffe's tongue is 27 inches long.
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It is a myth that giraffes are mute. Giraffes are normally silent, however, calves can bleat, cows bellow to find their calves and giraffes will also give warning snorts, moans and hisses. Flute-like sounds made by giraffes have also been reported.
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One theory as to why a giraffe's tongue is black or blue is to prevent it from being sunburned.
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Giraffes are not territorial.
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Despite the length of the giraffe's neck it only has 7 neck bones about the same number as most animals and humans.
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Giraffes eat the leaves of baobab trees
and also acacia leaves.
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When giraffe's raise their heads from drinking or eating the heart has to do a double beat in order to pump enough blood to the brain and avoid unconsciousness.
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The giraffes main predators are lions and large packs of hyenas as well as humans.
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A giraffe's heart can beat up to 75 litres of blood around the body every minute. A giraffes heart is 2 feet long.
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The neck veins of a giraffe contain valves and a network of tiny veins (rete mirabile) to prevent unconsciousness when it lowers its head to drink. The valves act temporarily as collecting vessels which compensate for the pressure in the brain.
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The giraffe's heart can weigh more than 24 pounds.
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The heart of a giraffe pumps approximately 16 gallons per minute.
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The giraffe has twice as many blood corpuscles than we do.
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A corpuscle is a blood cell.
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Giraffes reach a deep sleep for 1 - 12 minutes.
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In deep sleep a giraffes neck is bent backward like a handle, the chin touches the ground behind the tarsal joint of the stretched hind leg and the lower jaw rests on the shank.
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Giraffes can rest standing up, flicking their ears and keeping one eye open alternately to keep alert. Giraffes need to be ready to run away when predators approach.
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Giraffes can see far away, communicating with distant friends.
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Rank order fights between two individuals may last for a quarter of an hour or even longer (15 minutes).
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Giraffe males generally live peacefully beside each other after they have determined who is the strongest, however, they are not territorial.
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Giraffe's tongues are like hands (prehensile), about 24 inches long and black.
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During mating season, the male giraffe nudges the female's behind to induce urination. He then tastes the urine to see if the female is in heat (ready to mate).
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Mother giraffes give birth standing up, so the baby is dropped about six feet to the ground onto their head, however, they are very rarely injured.
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The baby giraffes (calves) are, on average, 6 feet tall when born, weighing 110 - 120 pounds.
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Giraffe calves begin browsing for food in their first month and are rarely observed to suckle on their mothers after they start eating leaves.
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First year giraffe calf mortality is about 58%.
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Giraffe calves may be taken by hyena, leopards and African wild dogs. However, the lion is their main predator.
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Life expectancy of a typical giraffe is 20 - 25 years.
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The word 'giraffe' comes from an Arabic word, 'zirafah', which means 'the tallest of all'.
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Oxpeckers or tick birds will land on a giraffe and search for ticks or insect pests to eat. This helps both the giraffe and the bird.
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In Africa you can still find giraffe meat on some menus.
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Giraffes drink water if it is available, however, they can go weeks without a drink. Otherwise giraffes rely on the morning dew and the water content of their food. At a water hole, up to 12 gallons may be taken in at once.
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One species of the acacia owes its name to the giraffe and some seeds germinate only after passing through the giraffe's digestive track.
Giraffes are one of the only animals born with horns, which can number up to five and get bonier with age. A short, stiff mane runs the length of their neck.
Giraffes have no tear ducts.
Giraffes have never been seen to bathe.
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A special joint enables the giraffe to raise its head vertically in line with the neck.
Giraffes mature by their fourth year.
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Giraffe horns are bony masses covered with skin and tufts of hair and are not really horns at all.
Fights with other giraffes involve neck wrestling and head banging; defence against predators is characterised by striking out with the forefeet, giraffes are capable of killing a lion. Males have extra bone deposits on their skulls for fighting.
