Image taken with permission from http://randm2.tripod.com/index.html
Image taken with permission from http://randm2.tripod.com/index.html
The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is the world's tallest land animal, and one of the largest. Female giraffe usually weigh between 1,200 and 2,600 lbs, and may reach heights of 13-16 feet. Males may reach 15-18 feet in height and weigh up to 4,000 lbs! (Woodland Park Zoo 2000) This sexual dimorphism helps male giraffes compete for mates (see mating system). Giraffes reach sexual maturity at 5 years of age, and they may live for up to 25 years (Dagg 1976). According to the Columbus Zoo (2004), several subspecies of giraffe have been identified according, with nine being generally accepted. These nine are listed below:
These subspecies differ by region and fur patterning, but their social behaviors are very similar. The information on this webpage applies to all subspecies of giraffe.
A giraffe in the Namibian savannah.
Image taken with permission from Namibweb.com
Giraffe can be found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, though they are limited to ever-decreasing pockets of land since the widespread encroachment of humans onto their habitat. Despite habitat destruction, some giraffes continue to coexist with humans and livestock in rural communities, whereas others remain in protected park areas (Ciofolo 2002). Giraffe inhabit the sub-Saharan African savannah, moving freely between open grassland, shrubland, and wooded areas (Le Pendu 1999, Ginnett 1999).
Human development has impacted the habitat of many giraffe.
Image courtesy of Michelle Gooch
Giraffe are selective browsers, eating a wide variety of seasonally available leaves, fruits, and stems. Acacia leaves provide giraffes with their most important food source, and they use their incredible height and prehensile tongues to reach leaves that most other animals cannot (Ciofolo 2002). Giraffes browse almost constantly to maintain their large body size: according to van der Jeugd (2000), they may spend between 20 and 50 percent of the day browsing. Like other ungulates such as cattle, giraffe are ruminants, digesting their food in multiple chambers. When giraffes are not eating, they are often ruminating. Because giraffes' food distribution is scattered and seasonally variable, they may wander constantly in search of quality food sources, especially during the sparse dry season (Ciofolo 2002). In conclusion, food is probably the most important resource in a giraffe's habitat.
A giraffe browsing at maximum height.
Image taken with permission from http://randm2.tripod.com/index.html
Water is less important for giraffes than for other large African mammals such as elephants, because Acacia leaves contain a lot of water, and because giraffes' physiology helps them to dissipate heat without losing water. Rather than getting rid of excess heat through perspiring, giraffes utilize the large surface area of their necks and legs to cool themselves off. Their body temperature may rise several degrees during the day, only to fall again during the cool of night. Giraffes may drink water when it is available, but during droughts, they can go for weeks without it (Dagg 1976).
According to Dagg (1976), lions are by far the giraffe's main predator, as few other carnivores have the ability to take down such a large animal. Overall, predation pressure is low, even negligible, for adults. However, infant giraffes often fall prey to lions and may be occasional prey for leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, or crocodiles. As many as 70% of giraffe infants may die from predation during their first year of life (Young 1991). Predation pressure on infants is lowered through maternal defense and calving groups (Pratt 1979).
A giraffe running.
Though vigilance is a giraffe's main predator defense, fleeing and kicking may also be used.
Image taken with permission from http://randm2.tripod.com/index.html
Defense behaviors observed among adult giraffe include vigilance, fleeing and kicking. Because of their height and keen eyesight, giraffe can easily spot predators from far away, especially in open areas. If one giraffe observes a potential threat, it usually stares fixedly in the direction of the threat, alerting nearby giraffe or even heterospecific animals to the predator. Vigilance is a giraffe's primary response to perceived threats, but if a predator moves too close, fleeing is the next option. Finally, if attacked, giraffes deliver powerful and often deadly kicks with their huge hoofs. Such kicks have been known to sever the heads of lions, and giraffe calves have suffered broken necks, backs or legs when their mothers were trying to defend them against predators and missed, hitting the calves instead. Notably, giraffes never kick conspecifics purposefully; kicking is used solely for predator defense (Dagg 1976).
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