Okapis live alone and hide away in tropical rain forests. The giraffe, with its long neck, is the tallest living animal. Males are able to reach a height of 18ft 5. Male giraffes tend to be taller than females and can feed on the higher branches of trees.
This height difference means that male and female giraffes do not have to fight for food. Female giraffes are up to 14 feet tall and weigh up to 1, pounds. Meanwhile, males are up to 18 feet tall and can weigh 3, pounds. At this height, a giraffe can look into a second-story window.
Their neck alone can be 6 feet long, which is taller than the average man and can weigh up to pounds. The record running speed of a giraffe is Giraffes are known for their long, tall appearance.
They have a small hump on their back like a camel and have a spotted pattern similar to that of a leopard. These nine subspecies of giraffe vary in coat patterns and live in different parts of Africa.
Giraffe coat colors vary from light tan to practically black. For example, the reticulated giraffe, found only in northern Kenya, has a fark coat with a web of narrow white lines, while the Masai giraffe, also found in Kenya, has a pattern that looks similar to oak leaves. Giraffes have two horns on the top of their head called ossicones. Both males and females have ossicones. Ossicones start as cartilage and later fuse to the skull as the giraffe ages.
Giraffes are herbivores, feasting on hundreds of pounds of leaves a week and traveling miles in search of food. Their height gives them an advantage over other African herbivores, as they can reach the high branches for young leaves. When fighting, male giraffes will push and shove against each other. This occasionally escalates into powerful blows delivered by their muscular necks.
The loser can be knocked out, and sometimes even killed. A giraffe heart can weigh approximately 11kg, making it the biggest of any land mammal. It can pump 60 litres of blood around its body every minute at a blood pressure twice that of an average human. Find out more about the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. Home Animal Facts Mammals Giraffe guide: species facts, lifespan and habitat. More related content: Giraffes are not one species, but four, according to a new study Why are giant pandas black and white?
Giraffes under a tree, silhouetted against the sunset in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Giraffe drinking from a waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia. A giraffe showing off its tongue — perfect for picking the leaves from acacia trees! Reticulated giraffes have some of the most distinctive patterns, with big, bold brown patches interlaced by a complex web of white lines.
What a tragedy it would be if we lost this funny giraffe face forever! Two giraffes and four zebras at a waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Okapi — a relative of the giraffe Okapi are the only living relative of the giraffe. Giraffe hooves in South Africa. How does a giraffe swim? Both links here go to external sites. Giraffes' legs are about the same length as their necks, about 6 feet long.
The rest of their height, about 4 to 5 feet, comes from their bodies. The weight of their necks, logically, makes up about a third of their body weight. Males typically weigh between 1, and 2, pounds, with about pounds of that from their necks. Part of that weight comes from the seven vertebrae, which is the same number of vertebrae humans have in their necks.
Giraffes' are much bigger, obviously, about 10 inches long. With such a heavy neck fighting gravity all day, you'd think giraffes would need to take a break every now and then.
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