I don’t suppose it comes as a surprise to anyone that giraffes are the tallest animal in the world; they are megaherbivores, they belong to a group of giant herbivores as you might guess! They really are very tall, the record is 19’3″, but there might be larger ones out there, roaming the African savannah! The camelopardalis part of their name comes from the fact that they look a little like camels and have leopardy markings and were thought to be a cross-breed of the two; the name can be translated roughly from the Arabic (maybe derived from other African languages) and means ‘fast-walker’. They are curious looking animals with their long necks, and long legs and strange body shape; they appear to have little horns which are called ossicones, Each giraffe has a unique pattern on his or her body. As well as having very long necks, they also have very long prehensile tongues, up to 45 inches!! There is a very obvious reason for this, they use them for eating, foraging among the leaves and branches of trees; they particularly like acacia.
Look at my tongue!!
There are about nine different sub-species:
- The Nubian giraffe
- The reticulated giraffe
- The Angolan giraffe
- The Kordofan giraffe
- The Masai giraffe
- Rothschild’s giraffe
- The South African giraffe
- The Rhodesian giraffe
- West African giraffe
They are such curious looking creatures, and yet we feel so familiar with them, having seen pictures and films of them, read books about them and even had cuddly giraffe toys. They have always held a fascination for humans, all through the ages; sadly these days as well as wanting to see them, some people hunt and kill them for their beautiful skins… the giraffe skin looks best on a giraffe!
Look at my gorgeous colour!
Lois Elsden 