Giraffe
Houston Zoo
Habitat
is limited primarily to savannas, sahels, and dry, open woodland, especially regions with an abundance of acacia, a small thorny tree, which is one of the giraffe's favorite foods
Facts
- Tongue is 18 inches long
- Have a four chambered stomach
- Can drink up to 10 gallons of water per day
- Have the longest tail of any land mammal – up to 8 feet long
- Have no tear ducts
- Have never been observed bathing
- Their neck is actually too short to reach the ground. As a result, it has to awkwardly spread its front legs or kneel on its front legs in order to reach the ground to drink water
More Facts !
- Their heart is 2 feet long and weighs about 25 pounds
- Their heart beats up to 170 times/minute
- The heart pumps about 16 gallons of blood/minute
- Males stand 16-18 feet; Females 14-16 feet
- Males weigh up to 2,000 pounds; Females a bit lighter
- They are strong enough to kill a lion, which is the Giraffe's only real predator.
- Both males and females have them.
- Covered with skin
- Males are thicker and heavier and are used sometimes to fight other males.
- Their average territorial range is approximately 46 square miles
- Males known as bulls
- Females known as cows
- Usually only sleep 5 minutes at a time
Pregnancy
- Gestation period is 15 months
- Interval between births is generally 20 months
- A baby is generally 6 feet tall and will weigh about 150 pounds at birth
- Will fall approximately 6 feet during birth before hitting the ground
- Begins nursing within one hour
- Generally also begin walking within one hour
- Spend between 16 and 20 hours a day feeding