We all know that the giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. Some males reach 5.4 metres in height and weigh up to 907 kilogrammes.
Everything about this curious animal is long. Its neck alone is over 1.8 metres long and weighs 272 kilogrammes. The legs of a giraffe are also around 1.8 metres long. If none of that length was enough for these spotted giants, they have yet another tool to reach up to tall tree branches, their tongue. Giraffes’ tongues are 45 centimetres long – long enough to reach around the thorns of the acacia trees whose leaves are their favourite food. This lanky animal has a long heart too. Its heart is 60 centimetres long and weighs about 11 kilogrammes! Its lungs can hold 55 litres of air! Therefore, it is no wonder that they are considered giants among animals.
A giraffe needs a lot of food since it is so big. This mammal eats up to 34 kilogrammes of food per day. When they do get thirsty, giraffes have to spread their legs and bend deep down, to drink from a lake or stream!
Both male and female giraffes have two distinct, hair-covered horns. Male giraffes use their horns to fight playfully with one another. As male giraffes age, calcium deposits form on their skulls and other horn-like bumps develop. The pattern on a giraffe’s coat is good camouflage. Many have been fooled into mistaking a giraffe for an old dead tree!
Picture credit: google
