Amazing Facts About Giraffes, Their Habitats, Food and More
Giraffes are the tallest living terrestrial animal in the world. They are the ones with long legs and a pattern of irregular brown patches on a light background. Giraffes are very friendly animals. They are herbivores. They don’t harm anyone. They spend most of the time eating, travelling and resting together. Giraffes’ height helps them to protect themselves from predators. They may eat a lot but not drink much water. These species are mostly found in groups. Their lifespan is around 20-25 years.
Giraffe
Habitat of Giraffes
Giraffes are mostly found in the dry savannahs of Africa where they roam among the open plains and woodlands. They eat leaves from long trees. They love to eat leaves from acacia trees.
Roughly 70% of giraffes occur outside government-protected areas.
They are found in scrubland and dense, thickened areas, woodlands and open grassland.
Some species of giraffes are found in semi-desert and deserts.
They are not found in tropical rainforests and on mountains.
Mother and Baby Giraffe
Few Interesting Facts About Giraffes
Giraffes are well known for their long necks; they are the world’s tallest living land animals. An adult male of giraffes can grow to around 5.5m, which is taller than adult humans.
They have a great appetite. They spend most of their time eating and can consume 45 kgs of leaves and twigs in a day.
Giraffes are herbivores. They only eat plants. They use their long necks to reach the leaves to consume them. Their long tongue (around 53 cm long) also helps them to pull down the leaves.
Giraffe Eating Leaves
A group of giraffes is also known as a “tower” of giraffes.
It is very interesting that giraffes are very social animals. They live in groups. These groups are called towers, which have around 15 members led by an adult male. The other members are mostly females and other young males.
It is quite interesting that when a female giraffe gives birth to a newborn, these newborns are quick to get on their feet within 30 minutes and after some hours they are able to run with their mothers.
Giraffes sleep less than two hours a day, they can sleep standing up for a short period of time.
How Do Giraffes Sleep ?
They can consume a large amount of water at a time, after which they can go for a long time without water. They drink water after a few days.
A Giraffe Drinking Water
Fun Facts About Giraffes for Kids
They are quite intelligent, group-living animals.
They are ruminants and they have a stomach which has four compartments.
They can sleep standing up as well as lying down both.
They have short skin-covered horns.
The colour of tongue of a giraffe is black, blue or purple with a pink base. The dark colour of the front part of the tongue is to protect it from sun exposure while eating.
Their weight at the time of birth is 50-60 kgs.
Both male and female giraffes have two hair-covered horns called ossicones.
A giraffe’s kick is quite strong. It can generate an impact of 2000 pounds of force per square inch. This is almost the same as the strongest kick ever recorded from a horse.
Giraffe Fighting with Predators
Some More Amazing Facts About Giraffes
Giraffes have a skeleton which consists of 170 bones.
The front legs of giraffes are slightly longer than the rear legs.
They are mostly found near water during the dry season.
Male giraffes use their big horns to fight with other males and with predators.
Giraffe Horns
Solved Questions
1. What is the colour of the tongue of a giraffe?
Answer: The colour of the tongue of a giraffe is black, blue or purple with a pink base.
2. How long does a giraffe live?
Answer: A giraffe can live for 20-25 years in the wild and in captivity, it can live for around 40 years.
3. How tall is a newborn giraffe at the time of birth?
Answer: A giraffe is around six feet tall at the time of birth.
Summary
Giraffes are very peaceful animals. They are gentle and kind animals. They are quiet, calm, and shy and also try not to harm others. Giraffes can communicate many different emotions with their brown eyes. Giraffes are found in groups. They spend most of their time eating and taking resting.
FAQs on Facts About Giraffes for Kids
1. What is the main food of a giraffe?
Giraffes are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. Their favourite food is the leaves from the tall Acacia tree, which other animals cannot reach. Their very long necks give them a unique advantage in finding food high up in the trees of the African savanna.
2. What is a group of giraffes called?
A group of giraffes is called a tower. This is a very fitting name because giraffes are the tallest mammals on Earth, and when they stand together, they look like a group of tall towers on the landscape.
3. Why do giraffes have spots?
A giraffe's spots are not just for decoration; they are crucial for survival. The pattern provides excellent camouflage, helping them blend in with the light and shadows of the trees in the African savanna. This disguise helps protect them from predators like lions. Interestingly, each giraffe has a unique coat pattern, just like a human's fingerprint.
4. How can a giraffe drink water with such a long neck?
Drinking water is a difficult and dangerous task for a giraffe. To reach the water on the ground, a giraffe must awkwardly spread its front legs far apart and bend its long neck down. This position makes it vulnerable to predators. To prevent a dangerous rush of blood to the head, giraffes have special valves and a network of blood vessels in their necks that control blood pressure.
5. What makes a giraffe's long neck so special?
A giraffe's neck is special because, despite its incredible length (about 6 feet), it has the same number of neck bones as a human: just seven! Each vertebra is simply very long. Besides reaching high leaves, male giraffes also use their necks as weapons in fights, a behaviour known as “necking” to establish dominance.
6. What are some interesting facts about baby giraffes?
A baby giraffe, called a calf, is born with a big drop! The mother gives birth standing up, so the calf falls about 6 feet to the ground. This surprising start helps it to take its first breath. A calf is already as tall as an adult human at birth and can stand up and run within just one hour.
7. Why is a giraffe's tongue so long and dark-coloured?
A giraffe's tongue is about 18 to 20 inches long, which helps it grip and pull leaves from thorny branches without getting hurt. The dark blue, black, or purple colour is thought to act as a natural sunscreen, protecting the tongue from getting sunburnt while it eats for many hours a day.
8. What are five key facts every kid should know about giraffes?
Here are five important and fun facts about giraffes:
They are the tallest mammals on Earth, with some males growing up to 18 feet tall.
They are herbivores and mainly eat leaves and buds from trees and shrubs.
A giraffe’s spot pattern is unique, like a human fingerprint.
They sleep for very short periods, often only 5 to 30 minutes a day, and usually while standing up.
A group of giraffes is called a tower.
