Giraffe Facts

1. Giraffe camelopardalis, which means "the fast-walking camel-leopard."
2. The word "giraffe" comes from the Arab word xirapha, which means "the one that walks very fast".
3. Giraffes are the tallest of all land animals.
4. Groups of giraffes are called herds, although they differ from the herds of most other animals. A giraffe herd can consist of anywhere from 2 to 50 animals,
5. One of the largest and strongest animals on earth is also one of the most peaceful.
6. Adult male giraffes are called bulls, adult females are cows, and a younger giraffe of either sex is a calf.
7. Adult male giraffes height range from 14' to as much as 20', and weigh about 2800 pounds.
8. An average female reaches 14 to 15 feet,
9. Giraffes can live as long as 27 years., but their average life span is about 10 years.
10. A giraffe's kick can kill a lion.
11. A large male can eat as much as 100 pounds of food a day.
12. When a giraffe goes into a deep sleep - for about one minute at a time - it curls its neck back and rests its head on its rump. Giraffes sleep no more than 5 to 30 minutes in a 24-hour period.
13. Giraffes from different parts of Africa have different coat patterns. scientists agree that there is only one species of giraffe
14. The darker the spots, the older the giraffe. An adult giraffe's tongue is 27" long.
15. It's a myth that giraffes are mute.  They are normally silent, but calves can bleat, cows bellow to find their calves, and giraffes will also give warning snorts, moans, and hisses.  Flute-like sounds made by giraffes have also been reported.  One theory as to why a giraffe's tongue is black is to prevent it from being sunburned.  
16. Giraffes are not territorial.-
17. Despite the length of the giraffe's neck it only has 7 neck bones about the same number as most animals and humans.
18. Giraffes eat the leaves of baobab trees.
19. When giraffe's raise their heads from drinking or eating the heart has to do a double beat in order to pump enough bolld to the brain and avoid blackout. The giraffes enemies are lions and large packs of hyenas. A giraffe's heart can beat up to 75 litres of blood around the body every minute. A giraffes heart is 2feet long.
20. The Okapi (or "forest giraffe") is a solitary, giraffe-like mammal found in rainforests of the upper Congo River Basin in central Africa. This nocturnal animal was only discovered by scientists in the early 1900's. This rare kind of giraffe is pictured below. The picture was taken at the Houston Zoo.