Giraffa camelopardalis

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Average male height 17 feet (5.3 meters), Weight averages 1800 pounds (800 kg ). The hoofed animals have chestnut brown blotches on buff colored fur. The spots on the fur darken as the animal ages. Giraffes have very long, flexible tongues and lips to go along with their long slender necks. The male giraffe's neck continues to grow after sexual maturity has been reached, whereas the females' neck stops growing when maturity is reached at about 10 years of age. Giraffes have seven vertebrae in their necks, just as humans do. They have very large eyes on the sides of their head , atop a periscope like neck, that give them wonderful eyesight. Also on the top of their head, they carry 2-4 stubby horns that lie under the skin . Their 8 inch ears give them a good sense of hearing.

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,163 meters (0 to 7,096 feet).[1]

Ecology: Typically associated with Acacia, Commiphora and Combretum savannas , but they also occur marginally in miombo Brachystegia woodland and in Isoberlina woodland, in Cameroon (Ciofolo and Pendu in press ). Giraffes are selective browsers , with Acacia species forming the bulk of their diet throughout the range , but also species of the genera Balanites, Commiphora, Detarium, Boscia, Combretum, Ziziphus and Grewia (Ciofolo and Pendu in press).[2].

List of Habitats :

• 1 Forest
• 1.5 Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry
• 2 Savanna
• 2.1 Savanna - Dry
• 2.2 Savanna - Moist
• 3 Shrubland
• 3.5 Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry

Biology

Diet

Giraffes are highly selective feeders , the bulk of their diet comprising the leaves and shoots of trees and shrubs , supplemented by climbers , vines and some herbs. Various species of acacia are favorite foods.

A large male may consume up to 75 pounds of food every 24 hours. Their stomach is like a cow's stomach, having four chambers that require the animal to chew its cud , fist sized balls of unchewed food that are regurgitated. These animals are thought to be very intelligent

Taxonomy

Similar Species

Members of the genus Giraffa

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 6 species and subspecies in this genus:

G. camelopardalis (Reticulated Giraffe) · G. camelopardalis giraffa (Giraffe) · G. camelopardalis peralta (Niger Giraffe) · G. camelopardalis reticulata (Reticulated Giraffe) · G. camelopardalis rothschildi (Rothschilds Giraffe) · G. camelopardalis tippelskirchi (Giraffe)

More Info

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Further Reading

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• A student's text-book of zoology / by Adam Sedgwick. London: S. Sonnenschein and co.; 1898-1909. url p. 590.
• A student's text-book of zoology, by Adam Sedgwick. .. London, Macmillan Co., 1898-1909. url p. 590.
• Advances in the study of mammalian behavior / edited by John F. Eisenberg and Devra G. Kleiman. [Stillwater, Okla.]: American Society of Mammalogists; 1983. url p. 649.
• Africa speaks: a story of adventure. .. / by Paul L. Hoefler; ill. with 143 reproductions from photographs taken by the author. London: J. Lane, Bodley Head, [192-?] url p. 451.
• African Ixodoidea. l. Ticks of the Sudan... [Washington]1956. url p. 577, p. 772, p. 799.
• African game trails, an account of the African wanderings of an American hunter-naturalist, by Theodore Roosevelt; with more than two hundred illustrations from photographs by Kermit Roosevelt and other members of the expedition, and from drawings by Philip R. Goodwin. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1910. url p. 539.
• African game trails; an account of the African wanderings of an American hunter-naturalist. With illustrations from photographs by Kermit Roosevelt and other members of the expedition, and from drawings by Philip R. Goodwin. London, John Murray, 1910. url p. 487.
• An introduction to the study of mammals living and extinct, by William Henry Flower. .. and Richard Lydekker. .. London, A. and C. Black, 1891. url p. 331.
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• Animal biology, by Lorande Loss Woodruff... New YorkThe Macmillan company[c1938] url p. 130.
• Animal life and the world of nature: a magazine of natural history throughout the world. London: Hutchinson, 1902-1904. url p. 79, p. 80.
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. url p. 101, p. 104, p. 105, p. 106, p. 114, p. 114, p. 118, p. 120, p. 129, p. 135, p. 144, p. 146, p. 147, p. 147, p. 151, p. 163, p. 411, p. 425, p. 79, p. 83, p. 85, p. 91, p. 98.
• Annual report of the New York Zoological Society. New York: New York Zoological Society, 1897- url p. 129.
• Big game shooting on the equator, by Captain F. A. Dickinson, F. R. G. S. With an introduction by Sir Charles Norton Eliot. 77 illustrations reproduced from photographs. London, J. Lane1908 [1907] url p. 92, p. 92.
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Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• Fennessy, J. and Brown, D. 2010. Giraffa camelopardalis. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 01February2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 26, 2007:

• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Vertebrate specimens
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database
• Michigan State University Museum, Vertebrate specimens
• Museum of Texas Tech University
• , Mammal specimens
• University of Alaska Museum of the North, University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology Mammal Collection
• University of Helsinki, Department of Applied Biology, Animal observations
• University of Washington Burke Museum, Mammal Specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 106094
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-625036
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13535128
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 625036
• IUCN ID: 211358
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 5550

Footnotes

1. Mean = 569.790 meters (1,869.390 feet), Standard Deviation = 1,572.140 based on 24 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
2. Fennessy, J. & Brown, D. 2010. Giraffa camelopardalis. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.