Which is slower, a Giraffe or a Guineapig? Which is slower, a Giraffe or a Groundhog? Which is slower, a Giraffe or a Hamster? Which is slower, a Giraffe or a Hare? Which is slower, a Giraffe or a Koala? Which is slower, a Giraffe or a Dromedary? Which is slower, a Giraffe or a Rat?
Is a Giraffe faster than a Dromedary? Is a Giraffe faster than a Dog? Is a Giraffe faster than a Turtle? Is a Giraffe faster than a Hare? Is a Giraffe faster than an Otter? Is a Giraffe faster than a Guineapig? Is a Giraffe faster than a Musk-Ox? Is a Giraffe faster than an Ocelot? Is a Giraffe faster than a Rhinoceros? Is a Giraffe faster than a Rabbit? Is a Giraffe faster than a Basilisk? Is a Giraffe faster than a Coyote?
Is a Giraffe faster than a Camel? Is a Giraffe faster than a Mole? Is a Giraffe faster than a Porcupine?
Is a Giraffe faster than a Hyena? Is a Giraffe faster than a Groundhog? Is a Giraffe faster than a Hamster? Is a Giraffe faster than an Oryx? Is a Giraffe faster than a Bear? Is a Giraffe faster than a Mink? Is a Giraffe faster than an Anteater? Is a Giraffe faster than a Prairiedog? Is a Giraffe faster than a Beaver? Is a Giraffe faster than an Orangutan? Is a Giraffe faster than a Koala?
Is a Giraffe faster than a Panther? Is a Giraffe faster than a Rat? Is a Giraffe faster than a Pony? Is a Giraffe faster than a Dormouse? Birth: Giraffes have big babies that are born weighing about kg. Even new-born babies are taller than most humans and stand at about 2m tall. Female giraffes give birth standing up and their young endure a rather rude welcome into the world by falling more than 5 feet 1, 5 meters to the ground.
Sleep: Giraffes only spend between 10 minutes and two hours asleep per day. They have one of the shortest sleep requirements of any mammal. Typically giraffes also rest standing up.
Although they would probably prefer to sit down to rest, this places them in a rather vulnerable position because their powerful kick and ability to see a large area around them are their strongest defences against predators.
Speed and Self-Defence: Despite their size and fairly placid gait, giraffes can move incredibly fast. Because of the size of their gait they can cover 4, 5m or 15 feet with each step , they cover a lot of distance without much effort. The fast and surprisingly graceful gallop of a giraffe can easily outpace a human, and even many horses. Giraffes are well-versed in the art of self-defence, to the point where even lions only dare to attack them in large groups and even that is fairly uncommon.
A giraffe can kick in any direction and in a manner of ways, and its kick can not only kill a lion, but has even been known to decapitate it. Unsurprisingly, very few predators bother an adult giraffe. They are up to 45cm long and are specially adapted to allow giraffes to forage on incredibly thorny but highly palatable trees, such as Acacias.
Their tongues are coloured bluish-black, which helps to protect them from sunburn because it spends so much of its day outside of its mouth feeding. They also produce incredibly sticky saliva so that should they eat a thorn, it slips down their oesophagus without doing any damage. The insides of the mouth, along with the lips and the tongue, are completely covered with hard, tough, finger-like papillae to protect it from thorns and nasty gashes.
Hearts: Because of their unusual shape, giraffes have the difficulty of having to get blood to their heads, very far above the ground. One of the ways around this is to have an enormous heart, which weighs about 11 kilograms or 25 pounds and measures at 60cm or 2 feet. The result is also a blood pressure that is almost double that of humans. To accommodate for this the artery walls have extra elasticity and to prevent the blood from rushing too quickly back down the neck again, the jugular veins in the neck partially contract to restrict return flow.
The animal would bleed profusely from any cut, and there is a very real danger of blood pooling in the lower extremities. Weightlessness has always posed a number of problems to the human body. One of the most significant issues is the weakening of leg veins. The veins get lazy, thin, and weak, which can pose serious problems when returning to Earth. Giraffes have provided a solution to this problem.
Baby giraffes learn how to stand almost immediately upon birth, thanks to their rapidly inflating leg veins. Additionally, these smaller blood cells allow for faster absorption of oxygen, ensuring a good supply to the extremities of such a large animal.
Drinking: One of the most vulnerable times for a giraffe is when it needs to drink and so they have developed the ability to gain most of their water content from the leaves that they eat. These animals however do have to drink every now and again, which with such a long neck can provide obstacles. This network of vessels near the brain gently expands to accommodate the increased local blood pressure. Valves in the jugular veins also prevent returning blood from flowing backward while the head is lowered.
All of this is controlled by a complex series of mechanisms that constantly monitor the pressure in the blood vessels and make whatever adjustments are needed to ensure that the proper pressure is maintained in all situations.
This means that even if the giraffe lifts its head up quickly mid-drink, proper blood supply is maintained to the brain. Species: Scientists have for a long time held the belief that there was only one species of giraffe, split into about nine subspecies. New research, just released however suggests that four groups of giraffes have not cross-bred and exchanged genetic material for millions of years.
This suggests that each species is adapted for a specific environment or diet — a question that is the subject researchers are now turning to. Now that we know that these animals cannot just be lumped into one species group, this may change how we view the vulnerability of their numbers and proves how much there is still to learn about this iconic species of the African bushveld. Filed under Wildlife. Amy worked at Londolozi from to , guiding full time before moving into the media department, where her photographic and story-telling skills shone through.
Her deep love of all things wild and her spiritual connection to Africa set her writing and guiding Sean Zeederberg Nov 12, 4 Kirst Joscelyne Nov 11, Leopards , Tracking. Jess Shillaw Nov 10, 2 You must be logged in to post a comment.
Most interesting, Amy. Thanks a million. You really stuck your neck out on this blog. You are the height of intelligence. Amy, this is the most informative article about giraffes I have ever read. I have to agree with you that watching these magnificently different creatures automatically clears out our minds and allows us to stay present with unbelievable beauty. Amy, thank you for a very interesting, informative write-up. Great facts Amy! Love your bogs.
I feel a kinship with these long-legged lovelies though I am not as graceful.. What an absolutely gorgeous collection of photographs! I particularly love that first video of two young males necking. I actually wrote a similar blog post incorporating all the fun facts that I learnt about giraffes whilst on my trip around Botswana over December.
Please feel free to check it out! I have to say — the fact that the collective term for group of giraffes is termed a tower when stationary, but a journey when on the move, has to be one of my favourite parts of the English language! I actually wrote a fun blog post about giraffes, based on my findings from my recent trip to Botswana in December.
Nice article about the giraffe. How accurate is the part about lions being decapitated? I can find any references to that. Hi Will. The kick would need to be incredibly well placed by the giraffe but it is in fact powerful enough. Our best photographs are available for purchase in digital format from the Londolozi Live Fine Art Store, via credit card. Purchasable photos are tagged with the Fine Art Store icon:. Once purchased, you will be able to download the full resolution, unwatermarked image around 10Mb from your profile page at any time.
There are also different license options which you can choose from when adding the image to your cart. The following Members haved favorited this photograph.
Visit their profiles to browse their collection of favourites. Resolution: x px Size: 8. You may not use this image for commerical purposes. You may use this image for commerical purposes. After you have added this photograph to your cart and completed checkout, you will be able to download the full, unwatermarked version at any time from your Profile page. Thank you for purchasing from the Londolozi Fine Art Site! Your order completed successfully and we have emailed you the order details.
Your purchased photographs are available for download in full resolution at any time from the Downloads tab below, here on your Profile Page, alongside information about your orders.
Points are awarded for each of your interactions with Londolozi Live, and for earning new badges and titles. All Members of the tribe get points although our in-house Contributors get a lot fewer to keep things fair ;. Points are just for fun for now and there are two kinds:. Want to have your story or photo journal published on the Blog and become a Guest Contributor?
Let us know! Badges are awarded for achieving various things and come with a bunch of points in tow. Here's an example badge:. We've had the pleasure of hosting you here at Londolozi and together we've experienced the magic of the wild and now you're part of the family.
You've let us know about your past visits while editing your Profile. Each badge has a basic version, such as the Londolozi Guest badge above, and a specialist version:. To see all the badges on offer and find out how to grab them, visit the Badge Showcase or click on any badge you happen to find out there in the wild.
When you first join Londolozi Live you start out with the title of Member. For interacting with the community in various ways, you can easily earn a promotion and earn some points in the process.
Awarded for visiting Londolozi three times. On a trip to Londolozi you've been lucky enough to spot a leopard of Londolozi. You've encountered the leopard's profile card on the Blog and pressed the 'Spotted this Leopard?
When hunting adult giraffes, lions try to knock the lanky animal off its feet and pull it down. Giraffes are difficult and dangerous prey. The giraffe defends itself with a powerful kick. Lions are the only predators which pose a serious threat to an adult giraffe. Imagine what it's like for a tiny insect to jump and fly as quickly as they do.
0コメント