Giraffe

Taxonomy

Kindgom - Animalia

Phylum - Chordata

Class - Mammal

Family - Giraffids

Order - Artiodactyla

Genus - Giraffa

Species - Northern Giraffe, Southern Giraffe, Masai Giraffe and Reticulated Giraffe

Evolution

Subspecies - Kordofan Giraffe, Nubian Giraffe, Rothschild Giraffe, West African Giraffe, Reticulated Giraffe, Angolan Giraffe, South African Giraffe, Masai Giraffe and the Thornicroft's Giraffe

Giraffe Existence - 15- 20 million years ago

Closest living relative - Okapi

3 ancestors of Giraffes - Bohlinia, Climacoceras and Giraffa jumae

Description

Physical Desciption - Tall long neck animal with equally long and spindly legs, and spotted coats. Most giraffes have a tan, white or yellow coats that are spotted with brown, square shapes

Key Characteristics- Adult giraffes range from 14-19 ft long, they have pointy ears that stick out from their head and have a brownish- tanish coat of shapes

Weight - On average 2,628 lb for an adult male and 1,825 lb for an adult female

Life Span- Typically 25 years in the wild

Male vs Female - The tops of the horns on a male are almost always bald. A female giraffe's horns will be completely covered with hair due to the fact that female giraffes rarely fight, so they never lose the hair on their horns.

Description of the Habitat

Giraffes live in savannas throughout Africa. They like semi-arid, open woodlands that have scattered trees and bushes

Rainfall- The African savanna experiences a humid, wet season from May through November that brings between 15 and 25 inches of rain per month. This burst of rainfall allows plants and trees to grow and provide nutrition to Africa's many herds of wild giraffe.

Animals that live in the Savanna - Zebras, Wildebeests, Elephants, Giraffes, Ostriches, Gazelles, and Buffalo

Temperature - The Savanna climate has a temperature range of 68° to 86° F In the winter, it is usually about 68° to 78° F . In the summer the temperature ranges from 78° to 86° F

Terrain - A savanna is a rolling grassland scattered with shrubs and isolated trees, which can be found between a tropical rainforest and desert biome. Not enough rain falls on a savanna to support forests. Savannas are also known as tropical grasslands.

Distribution

Continents found - Most giraffes live in grasslands and open woodlands in East Africa, especially in reserves such as the Serengeti National Park and the Amboseli National Park. Some are also found in the reserves of Southern Africa.

Invasive at all - No

What exactly do Giraffes eat - Giraffes are herbivores meaning their diet consists of primarily leaves but they do sometimes eat grasses, fruits and vegetables

How often do giraffes eat - Giraffe may eat up to 75 pounds of food per day. They typically spend most of their day eating. Giraffes only need to drink once every several days because they get most of their water from the plants they eat

How do Giraffes get their food - Their long necks allow them to reach leaves, seeds, fruits and branches that are high up on trees.

Any special foods - Giraffes show a preference for the leaves of the Acacia tree.

Social Structure

Live in packs or solo- Giraffes are social animals. They live in herds of about 10 to 20 individuals and they can be up to 50 members. Groups of giraffes are called towers.

Roles within community - The females bond very well together and work together to protect their young. Female Giraffes help each other out and form what are called nursery groups to take care of the offspring while mothers alternate watching and eating. Mature males leave their born group and usually spend the rest of their lives alone except when it is time for mating.

Male or Female led groups - They live and roam in groups called towers, which are composed of mostly females, giraffes usually find companionship and safety when surrounded by about 15 members. Although both male and female giraffes have hairy horns on their heads, only the males use these to head-butt one another when playing and asserting dominance. Once a male demonstrates his strength over another, the defeated male walks away from the group while the dominant one remains the tower leader for a few years until defeated by another.

Individuals that make up the group - Towers typically have 10 to 20 members. Who lives in the tower can vary. Some towers consist of all females and their young, or all male or mixed genders

How do they interact with each other - Giraffes can communicate with each other by humming at incredibly low frequencies

Reproduction

How often do they mate - Giraffe pregnancy usually lasts about 15 months, with two-year intervals between births

How many mates do they have - No specific number

Time of year for mating- Although giraffes do not have a mating season, breeding is more common during the rainy season because they are less stressed out and there is plenty of food to consume

Mating rituals- To find which of them are willing to mate, the males smell their urine

Number of offspring produces at a time -Giraffes usually give birth to one offspring at a time, although twins are born occasionally

Unique characteristics of their mating - Males smell female giraffes urine to know if they want to mate, they figure this out due to the hormones that are identified in it

Development

Stages of development

1-4 weeks

calves may begin grouping together, with mothers standing watch for predators and other dangers.

At this time, many mothers will leave for long periods to browse, they will return to feed their young before dark and stay through the night. Sometimes, a few females stay behind to care for the young, but young can be left alone for several hours.

By 3-4 months of age

Calves begin browsing and ruminating.

At about 4-6 months, calves begin to feed with the female herd.

Juvenile

Weaning age varies (6-17 months), but most commonly begins at 9-12 months

Independent of mother by two years of age, but some association may last longer.

Males tend to wander farther, at a younger age, than females.

Adult

Females: 4-5 years

Males: about 9-10 years

Horns fully developed at 4-4.5 years in males and 7 years in females.

Cartilaginous bumps grow and begin to ossify (become bony) starting at the tip, eventually merging with the skull. Forehead becomes more heavily ossified, forming an additional knob in front of main horns. Present in both males and females, but the knob on the male may develop into what looks like a third horn.

How old before sexual maturity - Sexual maturity of the female is at 48-60 months, the male is at 42 months

Difference between males and females - To tell the sexes apart, look at their horns, The females are thin and tufted while male giraffe normally have thicker horns that become bald on top as a result of frequent necking

Causes of death

The most common causes of death in the past 50 years were divided in approximate thirds between neonate-related deaths, infectious diseases, and trauma

Predation - Lions are the primary predators of the Giraffe. Lions use the strength of the whole pride to catch their victim, but giraffes are also preyed upon by Leopards and Hyenas

Sexual Competition - In intense bouts, male giraffes compete for dominance by steadying their legs and swinging their necks to deliver sledgehammer blows to each other with the stout ossicones atop their heads

Disease - Giraffe skin disease is reportedly caused by a parasitic worm. The disease, commonly referred to as giraffe skin disease, manifests as lesions, wrinkled skin, and encrustations that can affect the limbs, shoulder or neck of giraffes

Competition

Inter-species - In intense bouts, male giraffes compete for dominance by steadying their legs and swinging their necks to deliver sledgehammer blows to each other with the stout ossicones atop their heads

Intra-species – Giraffes don’t compete with other animals for their food so they live peacefully with other animals.

IUCN Rating

What is the rating- Critically endangered

Population - the total giraffe population is now around 117,000

Population Trend - Rising according to scientists

Impact of Humans - Growing human populations and urban development and the accompanying increase in agriculture, mines, and other extractive industries are destroying giraffes' homes and converting their habitat for human use.

What impacts have occurred - Habitat loss, civil unrest, illegal hunting, and ecological changes (climate change and habitat conversion)

Potential Future impacts -Giraffes living near traditional human settlements are more likely to encounter livestock and humans, potentially causing groups of giraffes to split up. These conditions could make it harder to maintain group cohesion and could this impact their ability to perform social behaviors

How long have humans been interacting with species - Humans and giraffes have a different type of relationship than that of many other animals. Giraffes have never served a significant purpose for people, yet they haven’t been seen as a threat either. Many people are quite fascinated by them which is why they take such an interest in them. They love the gentleness as well as the fact that they are so different from other animals out there. Our ancestors had contact with giraffes as some cave paintings confirm it. In countries like Namibia, there are cave walls with drawings where you can clearly see the figures of giraffes and other local fauna this goes back to early 2500 B.C

Efforts being made to minimize impacts - Education on how and why to protect giraffes, supporting sustainable agriculture and settlement practices near giraffe habitats, Reforest key areas with acacia trees that provide giraffes’ main food source, Stop the poaching of giraffes for their tails, Reverse climate change that’s causing rising temperatures and widespread drought in Africa.

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