The Giraffe is the tallest land animal in the world, with a total height of up to 5.5m, with the female being slightly shorter than the males. The giraffe has been put in the spotlight by biologists as they are baffled by the unique and complex circulatory system the giraffe possesses. With a huge height, comes huge weight. The Giraffe weighs around 1 400kg, with females weighing around 900kg. Both the males and females are coloured the same, with a light brown to tan skin colour and dark brown spots “mosaic-ing” the whole body except for the inner thighs, the stomach and face.
Giraffes have a huge advantage with their long necks as they can feed on the foliage of trees that are otherwise inaccessible to other herbivores. They use their prehensile tongue (that is very rubbery and thick) to pull leaves and thorns from branches and grinds them up with their spatulate incisors. The digestive tract of a giraffe is also thick and rubbery to protect itself from the thorns that they ingest on a daily basis.
Giraffes are not shy animals and will regularly come together to form social groups, though no group bonding takes place. The calves generally stay with the mothers while the more nomadic males will travel the savannah in search of other female herds. When males fight for dominance, it is a sight to behold. Battles between males generally consist of banging their heads against the opponent’s neck. Their skulls are extra thick and they have a special membrane that protects their brains from being damaged by these colossal impacts. The loser is usually knocked off balance and fights very rarely lead to any serous injury.
Giraffe populations have been greatly distributed throughout the years because of hunting, disease and farming, but these populations are stable and thriving. A majority of giraffes can be found in the Kruger National Park and surrounding areas as well as the most northern parts of Botswana and Namibia. These animals are always a sight to see when driving through the Kruger on a Kruger Park Safari.
