For kids, giraffes are one of the most unique and interesting creatures on this planet. So if you have kids, then you must know some interesting facts about giraffes to tell them. The most common fact about giraffes is their unique body shape.
If you read this article completely, you will know some unique and completely unknown facts about giraffes. This may help you to clear the ideas about the giraffe, a harmless herbivorous animal. So without wasting much time, let?s dive deep into the topic.
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Interesting facts about giraffes that no one knows
Giraffes are prevalent creatures, but there are many interesting facts about giraffes that you should know. This article is going to discuss some such facts about giraffes that no one knows. Let’s start.
Giraffes spend 12 hours of roaming
Giraffes spend more than 12 hours roaming in grasslands. They do not take much rest during the daytime. A male giraffe roams more than a female giraffe. However, more than 43% of female giraffes roam for more than 14 hours to gather their herds. Male giraffes do not take any responsibility for collecting food. (kennedyandperkins.com)
Giraffes are ruminants too
Giraffes are ruminants, too, like cows. They ruminate during the dawn and evening time. Male giraffes use more than 22% of the 24 hours for walking, and female giraffes use only 13% of the 24 hours for walking. Male giraffes try to find a suitable female for the rest of the time for mating.
Giraffes are not leaders like other animals
Lots of other herbivorous or carnivorous animals roam as a group. These types of animals definitely have a leader who directs that group. However, a herd of giraffes does not have any leader who directs the activities of that herd.
Every giraffe does not show any unique or particular preferences. All giraffes follow the rules of a particular herd, not a particular giraffe.
Baby giraffes do not leave their herds. Female giraffes take care of juvenile giraffes in a particular herd. After growing, the adult male giraffes leave the mother herd and join another herd for mating.
Giraffes are a mixture of camel and horse
Lots of people can’t believe this fact about giraffes. However actually, this is true. You may know that only the horse is such an animal in the world that sleeps while standing. Giraffes can do that well.
However, giraffes roam all the time during the daytime. If their stomachs are filled somehow, then they can sleep while standing like a horse during the daytime.
Generally, giraffes sleep at night like other common animals. During the sleeping time, giraffes tuck their feet under the body like camels. They have copied the sleeping habits of the camels.
Not only that, like camels, giraffes also prefer to stay in dry places and drink a huge amount of water at a time. Despite having other unique habits of giraffes, these two habits indicate that giraffes might be a mixture of camels and horses.
Male giraffes fight against other males for mating
Like other animals, female giraffes like the strongest male giraffes for mating. The fight of giraffes is called ?Duel.?
One male giraffe invites another male giraffe for a fight. Before starting a fight, both male giraffes do a unique activity.
During this activity, male giraffes rub their head against the neck of each other. This activity is called ?necking.?
With the help of this activity, one male giraffe can measure the height and strength of another male giraffe.
If the first male giraffe understands that its competitor is stronger than him, then that giraffe does not fight. Otherwise, they start fighting with each other by using their heads.
In some duels, one giraffe does not win until its competitors lie down on the ground completely. However, these types of duels happen when both male giraffes are strong enough.
In most cases, the comparatively weaker one flees away after a few minutes of starting a duel.
Where do giraffes live?
Giraffes prefer to live in dry places. East African countries and Southwestern African countries are the topmost living places for giraffes.
African countries like Namibia, Kenya, Angola, Zambia, South Africa, Tanzania, etc. countries are famous places for giraffes.
Furthermore, a healthy and huge community of giraffes was found in the 20th century in West Africa and the South direction of the Sahara desert. However, the population of giraffes has decreased due to lots of other external factors.
If you want to get information about the specific places of giraffes? homes, follow this list below:
- Samburu National Reserve
- The Giraffe Manor
- Etosha National Park
- Selous Game Reserve
- Kruger National Park
- Okavango Delta
The food habits of giraffes
Despite being herbivorous, giraffes have versatile food habits. It likes to live at a place where food remains available throughout the year.
Like other herbivorous animals, giraffes like to eat leaves. During spring or dry season, giraffes survive by eating leaves of evergreen trees.
When the rainy season comes, then giraffes start eating new leaves. Not only new leaves, but they can eat stems and sprouts of deciduous trees also. These are considered delicious food for giraffes.
In addition, giraffes prefer eating twigs from the trees also. They use their tongue to pull the branches of trees to eat leaves as giraffes have got a long tongue, so they get lots of benefits through it.
Male and female giraffes having different appetite
According to sources, more than 66 kilograms of food are required for a single giraffe daily.
There is a difference between the eating habits of male and female giraffes.
You can easily identify a male and a female giraffe from far away by noticing their eating habits minutely.
Male giraffes prefer to eat leaves from the topmost branches of the trees, where female giraffes bend their long neck to eat leaves closer to the ground. This occurs when there is an available amount of food for giraffes.
Another characteristic of the food habits of male giraffes is quite noticeable. Male giraffes like to eat leaves from dense woodland and dense trees. Female giraffes generally avoid this while eating.
Giraffes prefer to live in dry areas, so that giraffes drink a lot of water at a time.
Sometimes, a community of giraffes cannot find sufficient food for everyone. So they go to drier places sometimes to find more food. This is why giraffes prefer drinking a large quantity of water at a time.
They have strong lips and thick skin so that the thrones of branches cannot damage their mouths while eating. It is one of the most interesting facts about giraffes.
The behavior of giraffes
There are lots of interesting facts about giraffes that you must know. The giraffe is like other herbivorous animals. They prefer to live in a herd. So it is really tough for a traveler to see an individual giraffe in grassland except in a zoo.
Generally, not more than 20 giraffes stay in a herd, but exceptions are always there.
In a particular herd of giraffes, a dozen of female giraffes stay together.
Other giraffes in that herd are young male giraffes or old giraffes. This is another one of the top interesting facts about giraffes.
Some male giraffes stay alone except when living with a herd. It is called bachelor giraffes.
This type of giraffes joins in the herd for a short time, leaves that herd, and joins another suitable herd. Generally, older giraffes prefer solitude sometimes.
Most experts think that one herd of giraffes does not prefer other herds. But this is a myth.
Young and individual male giraffes communicate with each other to build connections between herds.
As giraffes are scattered widely in the world, it seems like they do not know each other.
The giraffe has sharp eyesight, and with the help of this, giraffes notice their neighbors minutely.
Fun facts about giraffes? tongues
Giraffes love to eat acacia trees which grow in savannah grassland in the African subcontinent. The specialty of this tree is ?throne.? This means the branches of acacia trees are filled with long thorns.
Giraffes use their tongue to grasp the branches to eat leaves. Their tongues have evolved and adapted gradually for these eating habits. A thick membrane protects their tongues from the thorns of acacia trees.
As the branches of acacia trees are filled with sharp thrones, giraffes take much time to eat leaves from them. This is why giraffes use more than 12 hours of eating and wandering in the grassland. A giraffe eats more than 30 kgs of acacia leaves per day.
Acacia leaves are one of the juiciest leaves for herbivorous mammals. Despite knowing this fact, most herbivorous mammals cannot eat these leaves just because of the thrones and the height of the acacia trees.
However, giraffes can easily beat these obstacles with the help of their heights and tongues. Their mouth can easily reach the top of the acacia trees to get the taste of the juiciest leaves.
The tongue of a giraffe is so long compared to other mammals. The average length of the tongue of a giraffe is 45-55 cm. With the help of this extra length, they can easily reach the top of the acacia tree to get the juiciest leaves. It is one of the interesting facts about giraffes.
What do giraffes look like?
Giraffes are one of the tallest animals in the world. It can easily eat leaves from the topmost branches of trees. Babies recognize giraffes just because of their long necks.
Generally, the average height of an adult male giraffe is 15-19 feet. The female giraffes are comparatively shorter than male giraffes. The average height of a female giraffe is 13-16 feet.
The average weight of a female giraffe is approximately 800-950 kilograms, and the average weight of a female giraffe is approximately 550-1100 kilograms. This animal has the longest tail. The average length of a giraffe is 8 feet.
Some male giraffes have excessive weights. The ultimate weight of a giraffe was measured as 1900 kilograms, which is huge for a giraffe. However, female giraffes cannot reach this weight anyhow.
Giraffes have four legs like other mammals, but these legs are long compared to their bodies. This seems a disproportion according to their body.
The giraffes’ bodies are so small compared to their height. Their neck and legs are long enough. The front pair of legs are 10% longer compared to the hind legs. So, their back portion creates an inclination towards its tail.
Giraffe habitat fact
The giraffe is one of the most common animals in the world. Everyone knows giraffes for their exclusive body shape. It is the tallest animal in the world.
Despite being a common animal, you cannot see it anywhere in the world. It has its perfect habitats, and according to habitats, giraffes thrive.
Giraffe requires a special kind of habitat. It is because of its very tall neck, and it cannot live in the deep forest. It prefers to live in grasslands. So, it inhibits savannah and open woodlands. However, only grasslands are not for giraffes because they can’t survive by eating grass only.
Giraffes prefer to live in such areas where acacia trees grow. Acacia tree is a combination of shrubs and trees.
Giraffes do not get to drink water every time. They live in dry places, so they need to depend on juicy leaves like the acacia plant.
Acacia leaves contain a high moisture content that helps to reduce the demand for water in the body of giraffes. This is why giraffes can live for a few days without drinking water.
Final thoughts?
Giraffes are famous for their long neck and their height. Kids know this animal very well for its unique body shape. The body shape is not a unique fact for giraffes.
Different types of facts are there about giraffes. This article has discussed several interesting facts about giraffes that you must know.
