Our planet is full of distinct creatures who grow at an extraordinary height. Elephants, camels, moose, etc., are some of the tallest animals on the Earth.
Giraffes are the tallest living mammals on the earth and are always the center of attention in safari parks. The height of an adult giraffe ranges between 15-20 feet. Male giraffes are taller than female giraffes.
A giraffe’s neck is about 5 to 7 feet long, with towering legs of around 11 feet. They are social mammals who can live in herds of as many as 50 other giraffes.
In this article, we have gathered complete information about the height of the giraffe and its other physical and non-physical attributes.
The Advantages of Height for the Giraffes
Since giraffes are tall, they do not ask other animals for food. Instead of searching for hours for food, they can feed themselves by reaching the leaves of the trees around 17 feet high.
Due to their amazing height, they can see predators coming from far away because their heads rest so far above the ground. They have time to protect themselves before the predator reaches them.
They can defend themselves from prey such as the lion, a leopard, or hyenas coming towards them. Due to an average 7 feet long slender legs, the giraffe is a speedy runner.
But, there is one disadvantage as well – they can not bend down very easily to drink water. This might help predators plan an attack at any time.
The Average Height of a Giraffe
The average height of a male giraffe, a female giraffe, and a baby giraffe differs.
A giraffe’s neck is around 5 to 7 feet long, while its legs are 11 feet long. A giraffe stands three times the height of a human. A giraffe’s legs are taller than a person’s total height.
How Tall is a Male Giraffe?
This animal’s long neck and legs play a crucial part in distinguishing a giraffe’s body from another giraffe.
The average height of a male is 5 to 6 meters or 17-19 feet.
Also, the full-grown male giraffes are taller than the female giraffes. They can weigh around 2000 to 4200 pounds on average.
How Tall is a Female Giraffe?
The female giraffe has an average height of 4.6 meters or 15 feet.
They are not much shorter than the male giraffes. Thus, they never fought for food.
Female giraffes have a solid tongue to protect them from the thorns found on some trees they eat daily.
How Tall is a Baby Giraffe?
A baby giraffe is born with a height of 6 feet which is exactly the size of a full-grown extremely tall human being.
The calf is thought to be grown enough to spend the rest of its life on its own once it reaches the age of four to five years.
Eventually, they will grow to be anywhere between 15 and 19 feet depending on their gender.
The Characteristics of a Giraffe
Giraffes have distinct characteristics other than the long neck, thin lips, long front legs, and patterned coats. Let’s take a look below:
- Tallest Animal on the Planet
The long neck and the bones of giraffes make them the tallest animal on the earth. A giraffe has a height of 3 times as compared to a human.
The legs of an average giraffe are taller than the entire height of an individual. Even a baby giraffe is much taller than the average human being. They can weigh around 2000 to 4200 pounds on average.
- Physical Attributes
The long neck of a giraffe has seven well-elongated vertebrae. Also, their front legs are much longer than their rear legs.
The skin patterns are unique in that they can protect themselves from predators by camouflaging. At last, their horn-like knobs cover the skin and hair on necks.
- Survival Traits
The survival traits of a giraffe are excellent. They have a great ability to digest rough plant fruit. They can survive for a long time without drinking water at all.
The stomach of the animal has four divisions. Giraffes are able to slightly digest the toughest part of the plant before they regurgitate it and then chew it like cud.
- Diet
Giraffes eat shrubs, fruits, and grasses with the help of their long tongues. It can consume around 75 lbs of food in a day.
Like the ruminants, giraffes can chew all day. Their favorite Acacia leaves contain a large amount of water which hydrates them. Thus, their drinking breaks are infrequent.
The Tallest Giraffe Ever
The tallest giraffe ever recorded was a Masai bull named George and was about 20ft tall. George, the giraffe, was also featured in the Guinness World Book of records.
He was a resident of the London zoo and died in 1969.
The current tallest giraffe is named Zulu with a height of 19 feet and weight of over 1.3 tons. He was found at the Folly Farm Zoo in Saundersfoot.
How Giraffes Reproduce
The giraffes Can reproduce during any time of the year. The female giraffe can conceive as soon as they complete five years of age.
Their gestation period usually lasts for 15 months. The maximum age at which giraffes conceive is 24 years.
There is no long-term bond between the male and the female giraffes. Because giraffes are non-territorial, the dominant male giraffe can mate with a female giraffe and follows her for hours.
Male giraffes must engage in a ritual fight to win the female giraffe.
After giving birth, females can live alone for several weeks with their calves for their protection from predators.
Final Thoughts
Sadly, giraffes are critically endangered due to fragmentation by rising human invasions. Until the 1990s, the animal population was over 27,000, but poaching and other conflicts reduced it to only about 3,000.
Have you seen what tall and powerful creatures giraffes are? By feeding on the leaves, they can live for about 25 years escaping from their enemies. According to the sources, they need immediate protection.
Similar Posts:
- How Much Does A Lion Weigh?
- Bear vs. Lion
- 12 Animals That Can’t Swim! Get To Know About Them
- What Is A Group Of Flamingos Called? Read To Learn More
- Lion Speed. How Fast Are Lions?
- Do Ostriches Really Bury Their Head in the Sand?
- Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears?
- How Tall is DaBaby?
- How Tall is Ariana Grande?
- Check Out Native American Physical Characteristics
