The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffe. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. In Uganda giraffes are found in savannah parks that are Murchison falls national park, Kidepo valley national park and Lake Mburo national park. It wasn’t in lake Mburo national park but due to the growth of acacia tree which they mostly feeds on, that is why giraffes were introduced to lake Mburo because availability of food for the giraffes
The giraffe spend most of the day and night feeding, especially the in the early morning and late afternoon. In the summer when food is abundant, the giraffe have more time during the day to chew their cud and lie down. The males spend part of the day fighting with each other.
The common name “giraffe” comes from the Arabic, which means fast walker but it is the scientific name that is particularly entertaining. Until recently, all giraffes were considered one species.
The giraffe is the tallest mammal on the planet earth. Even newborn giraffe are taller than most humans. Female giraffe give birth while standing up. Their young fall about 2 m to the ground and can stand up within an hour of birth
Giraffe often rest while standing up, but new research shows that they lie down more often than previously thought. When lying down, they fold their legs under their body, but mostly keeping their necks held high.
The giraffes takes long to take water because of its valuable position they consume to reach water on the ground, they open their front legs widely and doing it they have to first see safety of the place that why they do not feed on grass because grass cause make to take water regularly but the shrubs, and acacia tree leaves they feed on do not need much , that why they spend days without water.
The giraffe act as sentinels for other animals, due to their height and ability to see danger from far away. An alarm reaction by a giraffe quickly alerts the other animals, that why most of animals stay close to them.
They can detect small movements across long distances. Their night vision is quite poor but giraffes are among of the few mammals to be able to perceive color. They also have a 360-degree field of vision and can see far into the distance.
Lions are the biggest natural predator to the giraffes. In some populations, lion are responsible for the mortality of more than 50% of calves in their first year. Giraffe are less vulnerable to leopard and spotted hyena and to an even lesser extent to cheetah and crocodile.
Giraffes have an average lifespan of about 25 years in their natural habitat and a range of 20 to 27 years in human care. Adaptations what physical and behavioral characteristics enable this animal to survive but in the wild can stay up 25years.
Generally speaking, giraffes are friendly animals. These creatures tend to have gentle personalities and aren’t a species that would actively attack a human being. So, even though these creatures are massive, you don’t need to worry about them attacking you if you encounter one in the wild.
To start, the giraffe sinks its puckered lips into the water and then pulls back its jaw, allowing water to rush into the mouth while keeping the epiglottis “valve” closed. Next, the giraffe clenches its lips, relaxes the epiglottis, and pumps its jaw so that the captured water is pushed into the esophagus.
Giraffes play a crucial role in their ecosystems. As herbivores, they graze on leaves and twigs from acacia and other trees. These feeding habits contribute to the natural pruning of vegetation, influencing plant growth and maintaining a healthy balance in the ecosystems.
Another of the giraffe’s weaknesses is sleeping, so they almost never sleep because they sleep for only 20-35minutes in a day and they also sleep while standing up. Giraffes sleep for no more than a half hour during the day, and even this short amount of sleep is subdivided into a number of deep sleep cycles. If they aren’t hunted, giraffes can live for up to 25 years.
This may come as a surprise, but, giraffe enormous neck is too short to reach the ground. Therefore, as many of you may have witnessed, the world’s tallest animal has to awkwardly spread its front legs or kneel to reach the ground.
