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Lifespan, longevity, and ageing

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Maximum longevity: 39.5 years (captivity) Observations: There are anecdotal reports of giraffes living over 40 years. One wild born specimen was about 39.5 years when it died in captivity (Richard Weigl 2005). Tooth wear has been suggested to have a significant deleterious impact in captivity (Clauss et al. 2007).
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Associations

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Lions (Panthera leo) are the main predators of giraffes; while leopards (Panthera pardus) and (hyenas Hyaena hyaena) have also been known to prey on giraffes. Adult giraffes are well able to defend themselves. They remain vigilant and are capable of running quickly and delivering deadly blows with their front hooves. Crocodiles may also prey on giraffes when they come to waterholes to drink. Most predators of giraffes target young, sick, or elderly giraffes. The blotchy color of giraffe skin also helps to camouflage them while foraging in scrub forests.

Known Predators:

  • lions (Panthera leo)
  • leopards (Panthera pardus)
  • hyenas (Hyaena hyaena)

Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Morphology

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Giraffa camelopardalis is the world’s tallest mammal. Male giraffes (bulls) stand a total of 5.7 m from the ground to their horns: 3.3 m at the shoulders with a long neck of 2.4 m. Female giraffes (cows) are 0.7 to 1 m shorter than bulls. Bulls weigh up to 1,930 kg, while cows can weigh up to 1,180 kg. At birth, giraffe calves are 2 m tall from the ground to the shoulders. Newborn giraffes weigh 50 to 55 kg.

Both male and female giraffes have a spotted coat. The pattern of the coat varies and is an aide for camouflage with the different habitats. The nine giraffe subspecies have various skin patterns. The patches on a giraffe coat can be small, medium, or large in size. Giraffe coats are sharp-edged or fuzzy-edged; small, medium, or large; or yellow to black in color. The skin pattern for an individual giraffe is constant throughout the giraffe’s life. With the changing of season and health, the coat color may be altered.

Giraffa camelopardalis have long, sturdy legs, with their front legs longer than their back legs. Giraffe necks contain 7 elongated vertebrae. Giraffes have a steeply sloping back from the shoulders to the rump. Their tails are thin and long, measuring about 76 to 101 cm in length. A black tuft at the end of the tail whisks away flies and other flying insects. Giraffe horns, called ossicones, are bone protuberances covered with skin and fur. Female giraffe horns are thin and tufted; male giraffe horns are thick but the hair is smoothed by sparring. A medium-sized horn is common in both male and females; while males can grow a second pair behind the first pair of horns. The eyes are very large and their 45 cm long black tongue grasps prickly food from the very tops of trees.

Range mass: 1180 to 1930 kg.

Range length: 4.7 to 5.7 m.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; ornamentation

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Life Expectancy

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Giraffa camelopardalis have a life expectancy between 20 to 27 years in zoos. Giraffes live for 10 to 15 years in the wild.

Range lifespan
Status: wild:
25 (high) years.

Range lifespan
Status: captivity:
27 (high) years.

Typical lifespan
Status: wild:
10 to 15 years.

Typical lifespan
Status: captivity:
20 to 25 years.

Average lifespan
Status: captivity:
25 years.

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Habitat

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Giraffes inhabits arid, dry land. They seek out areas enriched with Acacia growth. Giraffes are found in savannas, grasslands, or open woodlands. Because they only occasionally drink, giraffes can be found away from a water source. Male giraffes can venture into denser wooded areas in search of more foliage.

Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; scrub forest

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Distribution

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Giraffa camelopardalis is native to Africa, mainly found south of the Sahara to eastern Transvaal, Natal, and northern Botswana. Giraffes have disappeared from most of western Africa, except a residual population in Niger. They have been reintroduced in South Africa to game reserves.

Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Trophic Strategy

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Giraffes feed on leaves, flowers, seed pods, and fruits. In areas where the savanna floor is salty or full of minerals, they eat soil as well. Giraffes are ruminants and have a four-chambered stomach. Chewing cud while traveling helps to maximize their feeding opportunities.

Giraffa camelopardalis have long tongues, narrow muzzles, and flexible upper lips to help obtain leaves from the tall trees they use for browsing. Giraffes use many tree species for browse, including: Acacia senegal, Mimosa pudica, Combretum micranthum, and Prunus armeniaca. Their main food is the leaves from Acacia trees. Giraffes browse by taking the branches in their mouths and pulling away the head to tear away the leaves. Acacia trees have thorns but giraffe molars crush the thorns. Up to 66 kg of food for one day can be consumed by an adult, male giraffe. However, in poor-quality areas, a giraffe can survive on 7 kg of food per day.

Male giraffes typically feed with their head and neck completely outstretched to the shoots. Their fodder is from the underside of the high canopy. Female giraffes feed at body and knee height, feeding from the crown of lower trees or shrubs. Female giraffes are more selective when feeding. They choose foliage with highest nutritional value.

Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; flowers

Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Associations

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Giraffes are host to troublesome ticks. Oxpecker birds (Buphagus africanus) rests on the backs and necks of giraffes, removing the ticks from the giraffe skin. There is a mutually beneficial relationship between giraffes and oxpecker birds.

Mutualist Species:

  • oxpecker bird (Buphagus africanus)

Commensal/Parasitic Species:

  • ticks (Acari)
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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Benefits

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In many zoos and wildlife parks, giraffes serve as an attraction. Giraffes have been killed for their meat and hide. The thick skin has been made into buckets, reins, whips, straps for harnesses, and sometime for musical instruments.

Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Benefits

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There are no known adverse effects of giraffes on humans.

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Behavior

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Giraffa camelopardalis are rarely heard and are usually considered silent mammals. Giraffes communicate with one another by infrasonic sound. They do, at times, vocalize to one another by grunts or whistle-like cries. Some other communication sounds for giraffes are moaning, snoring, hissing, and flutelike sounds. When alarmed, a giraffe grunts or snorts to warn neighboring giraffes of the danger. Mother giraffes can whistle to their young calves. Also, cows search for their lost young by making bellowing calls. The calves return their mother’s calls by bleating or mewing. While courting an estrous cow, male giraffes may cough raucously.

Giraffe vision relies mainly on their height. Their height allows giraffes a continual visual contact while at great distances from their herd. The acute eyesight of giraffes can spot predators at a distance so they can prepare to defend themselves by kicking. Individuals within a herd may scatter widely across the grassland in search of good food or drink, and only cluster together at good food trees or if threatened.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Other Communication Modes: duets

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Conservation Status

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Giraffa camelopardalis populations seem to be stable throughout parts of their range and are threatened in other areas. Giraffes are hunted and poached for their skin, meat, and tail. Habitat destruction also impacts giraffe populations. Giraffe populations remain common in east and southern Africa but have drastically fallen in west Africa. In Niger, conservation of giraffes has been made a priority. In other places where large mammals have disappeared, giraffes have survived. Their survival could be because their height diminishes competition with domestic mammals.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Reproduction

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Giraffes are polgynous. Bulls carefully guard an estrous female from other male giraffes. Courtship starts when a bull approaches a cow to perform a urine test, smelling the urine with a pronounced lip curl, a behavior referred to as flehmen. The bull will then proceed to rub his head near the rump of the female and rest it on her back. Male giraffes lick the tail of the female and lift his foreleg. If receptive, the female giraffe will circle the male, hold her tail out, and take on a mating position, after which copulation occurs.

Mating System: polygynous

For Giraffa camelopardalis, conception occurs in the rainy season, with birth occurring in the dry months. Most giraffe births take place from May to August. Female giraffes breed every 20 to 30 months. The gestation period is about 457 days. Mother giraffes give birth standing up or walking. The giraffe calf drops 2 m to the ground. Most often a single calf is born; twins are uncommon but do occur. Newborn calves get to their feet and begin suckling fifteen minutes after birth. The weaning period for female calves is 12 to 16 months; the weaning period for males is 12 to 14 months. The independence period varies between bulls and cows. Cows tend to stay within the herd. However, bulls tend to become solitary until they find or obtain their own herd and become the dominant male. Female giraffes reach sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years of age but do not breed for at least another year. At age 4 to 5 years, male giraffe become sexually mature; however, it is not until seven years of age when they start to breed.

Breeding interval: Giraffes can give birth every 20 to 30 months

Breeding season: Breeding occurs between May and August.

Range number of offspring: 1 (low) .

Range gestation period: 400 to 468 days.

Average gestation period: 457 days.

Range weaning age: 12 to 16 months.

Average weaning age: 12 months.

Range time to independence: 1 to 3 years.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 3 to 4 years.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 4 to 5 years.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous

Average birth mass: 58500 g.

Average number of offspring: 1.

A giraffe calf hides throughout much of the day and night of its first week, remaining on the ground. Mother giraffes stay nearby, within 25 m, guarding their young and feeding. At night females return to their young to nurse them.

After three to four weeks, mother giraffes steer their young calves into crèche groups. The crèche group allows mother giraffes to wander further away from the young calf to feed or drink. The mother giraffes take turns watching over all the youngsters in the crèche group. Now the mother giraffe can drift as far as 200 m from her calf. Mothers still return before nightfall to suckle and protect their calf.

Parental Investment: precocial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)

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Maisano, S. 2006. "Giraffa camelopardalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Giraffa_camelopardalis.html
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Sarah Maisano, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Biology

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The giraffe is non-territorial and sociable, forming loose herds with no permanent members in very variable home ranges of between 5 and 650 km² (3). Females tend to associate most with one another when they have young, as the calves tend to play together in crèches (3). Males leave their mothers at around three years, and sometimes form roaming bachelor herds that look for females (cows) in heat (3). Males spar with each other at all ages, standing side by side and swinging their necks to thump their head into the other male's body. These fights can be quite gentle, or quite fierce, sometimes resulting in knocked-out giraffes (2). Mating occurs year-round, peaking in the rainy season, and results in pregnancies lasting 15 months. Females will usually become pregnant for the first time in their fourth year (3). The single calf begins life with a two metre drop, as females give birth standing up (7). The newborn calf is able to stand within 20 minutes and will grow about 2.1 m in its first year. At a year old, young giraffes have been weaned but remain close to them until at least 22 months old, often remaining nearby for life (3). Despite the females' attempts to stand over their calves during attacks by lions, spotted hyenas, leopards and African wild dogs (6), many calves are killed in their first few months (3). Sexual maturity occurs at three to four years in both males and females, but males rarely have the opportunity to mate before seven years old (3). Life expectancy in the wild is 20 years (6). Using its 45 cm prehensile, black tongue, the giraffe rips the thorny leaves from Acacia and Combretum trees and may eat as many as 100 other plant species (3). Reaching higher than any other mammal, the giraffe can eat up to 134 kg of leaves a day, and can ruminate whilst walking (3). These enormous animals do not migrate as they can obtain most of the moisture they need from their diet, but they will drink every two to three days when water is available. It is possible to distinguish the sexes from a distance as males more often extend their heads in line with their necks to reach branches higher than those the females are feeding from, with bent necks (4). With strong eyesight from an elevated position and a good sense of smell, giraffes are often accompanied by zebra and wildebeest which may benefit from the giraffe as an 'early warning system' (8). Whilst it was thought that giraffes did not make any sounds, this is now known to be untrue, as giraffes bellow, snort, hiss and make flute-like sounds, as well as low pitch noises beyond the range of human hearing (3).
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Conservation

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Giraffes are protected where they occur in National Parks and private game parks, and whilst they are also protected by hunting laws, poaching still occurs (4). The giraffe is involved in a Species Survival Program for captive individuals in American zoos, which includes the education of the public in conservation matters as well as cooperation with other conservation agencies (10).
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Description

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Spectacularly tall, the giraffe has a very long neck with a short, upstanding mane, and high shoulders that slope steeply to the hindquarters. The legs are also long. The giraffe's neck is made up of the same number of neck bones (vertebrae) as most mammals, including humans, but they are much larger and linked by ball and socket joints for improved flexibility (4). The specific name of the giraffe comes from the Latin 'camelopardalis', meaning 'camel marked like a leopard', owing to their buff background with brown blotches, which helps to camouflage them in the dappled light and shade patterns created by the trees they feed on (5). The various subspecies of giraffe differ slightly in colouration and patterning. The reticulated giraffe of northeastern Kenya (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) has large, chestnut-coloured patches outlined by thin white lines. Rothschild's giraffe of western Kenya and eastern Uganda (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) has broader dividing white lines than the reticulated giraffe, and no spotting beneath the knees. The Masai giraffe of Tanzania and southern Kenya (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) has irregular star-shaped light to dark brown spots. Giraffes have two horn-like structures about 13 cm long made of skin-covered bone; they are thin and tufted in females and thick and bald on top in males, as a result of wearing during fights with other males (3). Males can develop calcium depositions on their heads in addition to their horns as they age. These help to deliver heavier blows during fights with other males (3).
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Habitat

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Inhabits savanna, scrub, open acacia woodlands and subtropical and tropical grasslands with trees and bushes (1) (7).
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Range

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The giraffe is found south of the Sahara in Africa (4), but has been eliminated from most of western Africa and the southern Kalahari (6).
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Status

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The giraffe is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1). Subspecies: Niger giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis peralta is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List (1).
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Threats

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Giraffes were previously killed for their tails alone, which were used as fly swats, good luck charms and thread for sewing (9). Now, the main threats to the giraffe are habitat loss and poaching for meat and hides (4) (9).
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Behavior

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Video of male Giraffes fighting with their necks can be viewed at ARKive.
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Fact Card

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<Fact Card>


<Physical Description>

<Weight>1,750 to 2,800 lbs (794 to 1,270 kg)</Weight>

<Height>Males stand 16-18 feet; Females 14-16 feet</Height>

<Length>4.7 to 5.7 m</Length>

<Lifespan>20-25 years</Lifespan>

<Reproduction>Female lions usually give birth to a single calf every every 20 to 30 months.</Reproduction>

<Geographic Distribution>South of the Sahara to eastern Transvaal, Natal, and northern Botswana.</Geographic Distribution>

<Natural Diet>Leaves from Acacia and Combretum trees and many other plant species.</Natural Diet>

<Fast Fact>A giraffe's tongue is about 18 inches long.</Fast Fact>

</Fact Card>

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Giraffes

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Spectacularly tall, the giraffe has a very long neck with a short, upstanding mane, and high shoulders that slope steeply to the hindquarters. The legs are also long. The giraffe's neck is made up of the same number of neck bones (vertebrae) as most mammals, including humans, but they are much larger and linked by ball and socket joints for improved flexibility (4). The specific name of the giraffe comes from the Latin 'camelopardalis', meaning 'camel marked like a leopard', owing to their buff background with brown blotches, which helps to camouflage them in the dappled light and shade patterns created by the trees they feed on (5).The various subspecies of giraffe differ slightly in colouration and patterning. The reticulated giraffe of northeastern Kenya (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) has large, chestnut-coloured patches outlined by thin white lines. Rothschild's giraffe of western Kenya and eastern Uganda (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) has broader dividing white lines than the reticulated giraffe, and no spotting beneath the knees. The Masai giraffe of Tanzania and southern Kenya (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) has irregular star-shaped light to dark brown spots. Giraffes have two horn-like structures about 13 cm long made of skin-covered bone; they are thin and tufted in females and thick and bald on top in males, as a result of wearing during fights with other males (3). Males can develop calcium depositions on their heads in addition to their horns as they age. These help to deliver heavier blows during fights with other males (3).

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Giraffes

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Spectacularly tall, the giraffe has a very long neck with a short, upstanding mane, and high shoulders that slope steeply to the hindquarters. The legs are also long. The giraffe's neck is made up of the same number of neck bones (vertebrae) as most mammals, including humans, but they are much larger and linked by ball and socket joints for improved flexibility (4). The specific name of the giraffe comes from the Latin 'camelopardalis', meaning 'camel marked like a leopard', owing to their buff background with brown blotches, which helps to camouflage them in the dappled light and shade patterns created by the trees they feed on (5).The various subspecies of giraffe differ slightly in colouration and patterning. The reticulated giraffe of northeastern Kenya (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) has large, chestnut-coloured patches outlined by thin white lines. Rothschild's giraffe of western Kenya and eastern Uganda (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) has broader dividing white lines than the reticulated giraffe, and no spotting beneath the knees. The Masai giraffe of Tanzania and southern Kenya (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) has irregular star-shaped light to dark brown spots. Giraffes have two horn-like structures about 13 cm long made of skin-covered bone; they are thin and tufted in females and thick and bald on top in males, as a result of wearing during fights with other males (3). Males can develop calcium depositions on their heads in addition to their horns as they age. These help to deliver heavier blows during fights with other males (3).v

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Northern giraffe

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The northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), also known as three-horned giraffe,[2] is the type species of giraffe, G. camelopardalis, and is native to North Africa, although alternative taxonomic hypotheses have proposed the northern giraffe as a separate species.[3][1]

Once abundant throughout Africa since the 19th century, Northern giraffes ranged from Senegal, Mali and Nigeria from West Africa to up north in Egypt. [4] The similar West African giraffes lived in Algeria and Morocco in ancient periods until their extinctions due to the Saharan dry climate.[5][6][4]

Giraffes collectively are considered Vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),[1] with around 97,000 wild individuals alive in 2016, [1] of which 5,195 are Northern giraffes.

Taxonomy and evolution

The current IUCN taxonomic scheme lists one species of giraffe with the name G. camelopardalis and nine subspecies.[1][7] A 2021 whole genome sequencing study suggests the northern giraffe as a separate species, and postulates the existence of three distinct subspecies,[8] and more recently, one extinct subspecies.[9][10][11]

Description

Skull of a northern giraffe, that demonstrates the ossicones on their foreheads

Often mistaken with the Southern Giraffes, Northern giraffes can be differentiated by the shape and size of the two distinctive horn-like protuberances known as ossicones on their foreheads; they are longer and larger than those of southern giraffes. Bull Northern giraffes have a third cylindrical ossicone in the center of the head just above the eyes, which is from 3 to 5 inches long.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Northern giraffes live in savannahs, shrublands, and woodlands. After numerous local extinctions, Northern giraffes are the least numerous giraffe species, and the most endangered. In East Africa, they are mostly found in Kenya and southwestern Ethiopia, and rarely in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. In Central Africa, there are about 2,000 in the Central African Republic, Chad and Cameroon. Once widespread in West Africa, a few hundred Northern giraffes are confined in the Dosso Reserve of Kouré, Niger. They are isolated in South Sudan, Kenya, Chad and Niger. They commonly live both in and outside of protected areas.[1]

The earliest ranges of the Northern giraffes were in Chad during the late Pliocene. Once abundant in North Africa, they lived in Algeria from the early Pleistocene during the Quaternary period. They lived in Morocco, Libya and Egypt until their extinction there around AD 600, as the drying climate of the Sahara made conditions impossible for giraffes. Giraffe bones and fossils have been found across these countries.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Muller, Z.; Bercovitch, F.; Brand, R.; Brown, D.; Brown, M.; Bolger, D.; Carter, K.; Deacon, F.; Doherty, J.B.; Fennessy, J.; Fennessy, S.; Hussein, A.A.; Lee, D.; Marais, A.; Strauss, M.; Tutchings, A.; Wube, T. (2018) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Giraffa camelopardalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T9194A136266699. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T9194A136266699.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Linnaeus, C. (1758). The Nubian or Three-horned giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). Existing Forms of Giraffe (February 16, 1897): 14.
  3. ^ Petzold, Alice; Hassanin, Alexandre (2020-02-13). "A comparative approach for species delimitation based on multiple methods of multi-locus DNA sequence analysis: A case study of the genus Giraffa (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla)". PLOS ONE. 15 (2): e0217956. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1517956P. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0217956. PMC 7018015. PMID 32053589.
  4. ^ a b Hassanin, Alexandre; Ropiquet, Anne; Gourmand, Anne-Laure; Chardonnet, Bertrand; Rigoulet, Jacques (2007). "Mitochondrial DNA variability in Giraffa camelopardalis: consequences for taxonomy, phylogeography and conservation of giraffes in West and central Africa". Comptes Rendus Biologies. 330 (3): 265–274. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2007.02.008. PMID 17434121.
  5. ^ a b Anne Innis Dagg (23 January 2014). Giraffe: Biology, Behaviour and Conservation. Cambridge University Press. p. 5. ISBN 9781107729445. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b Fred Wendorf; Romuald Schild (11 November 2013). Holocene Settlement of the Egyptian Sahara: Volume 1: The Archaeology of Nabta Playa. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 622. ISBN 9781461506539. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  7. ^ Bercovitch, Fred B.; Berry, Philip S. M.; Dagg, Anne; Deacon, Francois; Doherty, John B.; Lee, Derek E.; Mineur, Frédéric; Muller, Zoe; Ogden, Rob (2017-02-20). "How many species of giraffe are there?". Current Biology. 27 (4): R136–R137. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.12.039. PMID 28222287.
  8. ^ Coimbra, Raphael T.F.; Winter, Sven; Kumar, Vikas; Koepfli, Klaus-Peter; Gooley, Rebecca M.; Dobrynin, Pavel; Fennessy, Julian; Janke, Axel (2021). "Whole-genome analysis of giraffe supports four distinct species". Current Biology. 31 (13): 2929–2938.e5. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.033. PMID 33957077.
  9. ^ "Giraffa camelopardalis senegalensis Petzold, Magnant & Hassanin, 2020". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  10. ^ Petzold, Alice; Magnant, Anne-Sophie; Edderai, David; Chardonnet, Bertrand; Rigoulet, Jacques; Saint-Jalme, Michel; Hassanin, Alexandre (2020-08-18). "First insights into past biodiversity of giraffes based on mitochondrial sequences from museum specimens". European Journal of Taxonomy (703). doi:10.5852/ejt.2020.703. ISSN 2118-9773.
  11. ^ "Giraffa camelopardalis senegalensis (Senegalese giraffe) - The Recently Extinct Plants and Animals Database". recentlyextinctspecies.com. Retrieved 2023-06-03.

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Northern giraffe: Brief Summary

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The northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), also known as three-horned giraffe, is the type species of giraffe, G. camelopardalis, and is native to North Africa, although alternative taxonomic hypotheses have proposed the northern giraffe as a separate species.

Once abundant throughout Africa since the 19th century, Northern giraffes ranged from Senegal, Mali and Nigeria from West Africa to up north in Egypt. The similar West African giraffes lived in Algeria and Morocco in ancient periods until their extinctions due to the Saharan dry climate.

Giraffes collectively are considered Vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with around 97,000 wild individuals alive in 2016, of which 5,195 are Northern giraffes.

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