Mammals

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Wild Africa

Thursday 7th June at 9.00am on Eden

Sky 532 | Virgin 208

Fact file: Giraffes

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Giraffidae
Species: Giraffa camelopardalis

Their hearts weigh almost two stone, their necks grow to six feet and they communicate on an ultrasound level. Giraffes are one of the most unique species on earth.

At six feet tall, giraffes are the tallest land mammals. Males can grow up to 18 feet in height with a neck length of six feet. At birth, a baby giraffe (calf) drops head first to the ground from a height of about six feet, which shocks it to take its first big breath. Newborns are up and walking around after about one hour.

There is only one species of giraffe, with nine subspecies recognised by their different patterns. Their specific name Giraffa camelopardalis roughly means 'one who walks swiftly, a camel marked like a leopard'. Like camels, giraffes have a (small) hump on their backs and can go without drinking water for long periods due to their succulent diet of Acacia leaves.

Giraffes are big hearted creatures - quite literally. They need their 26lb heart and high blood pressure to stop them fainting when they raise their heads from ground level. Conversely, they also have incredibly strong valves in their blood vessels in order to withstand the high blood pressure when lowering their heads to drink.

Many cultures have honoured the giraffe. They have been depicted in African cave paintings and ancient Egyptian art. Whilst not hunted in large numbers poaching is still a problem. Giraffe tail hairs are used to make jewellery and hide is used to make sandals. The burning skin of a giraffe is used to treat nose-bleeds among some tribes.

Historically, giraffes were thought to be mute. Whilst generally quiet, recent research has shown that they bleat, grunt and snort. They also communicate at an infrasound level, like elephants and whales.

Giraffes spend most of their day eating, needing up to 34 kilograms of food per day to fuel their massive size. They produce thick saliva which coats any thorns in preparation for swallowing. Adult giraffes are too large for most predators but the young can fall prey to lions, leopards and hyenas. Up to half of all giraffe calves never reach adulthood.

The average lifespan of a giraffe is 25. This increases to 28 for giraffes in captivity. Females give birth to one giraffe at a time with the pregnancy lasting 15 months.

Just as no two humans have the same fingerprints, no two giraffes have the same pattern.

Giraffes in the wild generally sleep standing up - it would take too long for them to get back on their feet should a predator approach.