Reticulated Giraffe

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The world’s tallest mammals, giraffe’s legs alone are about six feet long. Their stature allows them to feed on leaves and shoots from trees that other animals cannot reach. Giraffes eat most of the time, eating hundreds of pounds of leaves each week traveling miles to find enough food. They need to drink only once every several days since they get most of their water from the plants they eat. Because of their long legs and the pose they must assume to drink from a waterhole, they leave themselves vulnerable to attack from predators. Found in Sub-Saharan Africa, the giraffe cow gives birth usually to one calf that remains in a calving ground with other calves for about 15 months of its life. Although this ensures a certain amount of protection with the calves protecting each other when the mothers leave to feed during the day, half of the calves die during the first 6 months of life from predators. Once a calf reaches a year old their mortality rate drops to less than 10 percent. Natives often kill giraffes for the hair in their tails that are used to make bracelets and sold to tourists.

Reticulated Giraffe - Fast Facts

Type: Mammal
Diet: Herbivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 25 years
Size: 14 to 19 ft (4 to 6 m)
Weight: 1,750 to 2,800 lbs (794 to 1,270 kg)
Status: STABLE

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