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More About Giraffes ...
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The Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an even-toed ungulate mammal and the tallest of all living animal species. Males can be 4.8 to 5.5 metres tall and weigh up to 900 kilograms. Females are generally slightly shorter and weigh less.
There are three color variants :
Masai Giraffe : Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi (yellowish-buff color coat with jagged-edged pale / dark blotches.)
Reticulated Giraffe : Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata (liver-red color coat marked with reticulated yellowish-white lines)
Rothschild Giraffe : Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi (much paler color coat with less jagged-edged blotches)
Native to Africa, the "Giraffe" is related to deer and cattle, but placed in a separate family, the Giraffidae, consisting only of the Giraffe and its closest relative, the Okapi.
Giraffes are famous for their extraordinarily long necks (which allow them to browse on the leaves of trees) and similarly elongated forelegs (which are much longer than the hind legs). The bony structure of the neck is essentially unchanged from that of other mammals: there are no extra vertabrae, but each of the 7 bones is greatly enlarged. Bone constitutes the bud-like horns called ossicorns, which are covered with the Giraffe's skin like the rest of the skull.
Many more subtle modifications to the Giraffe's structure have evolved, however, particularly to the circulatory system. A Giraffe's heart, which can weigh up to 24 lb (10 kg), has to generate around double the normal blood pressure for a large mammal in order to maintain blood flow to the brain against gravity. In the upper neck, a complex pressure-regulation system called the rete mirabile prevents excess blood flow to the brain when the Giraffe lowers its head to drink. Conversely, the blood vessels in the lower legs are under great pressure (because of the weight of fluid pressing down on them). In other animals. such pressure would force the blood out through the capillary walls: giraffes, however, have a very tight sheath of thick skin over their lower limbs which maintains high extravascular pressure in exactly the same way as a pilot's g-suit.
Giraffe gestation lasts between 14 and 15 months; a single calf is born. The mother gives birth standing up and the embryonic sack actually bursts when the baby falls to the ground. Newborn Giraffes are about 1.8 metres tall. Within a few hours of being born, calves can run around and are indistinguishable from a calf that may be a week old already; however, for the first two weeks, they spend most of their time lying down, guarded by the mother. While adult giraffes are too large to be attacked by most predators, the young can fall prey to Lions, Leopards, hyenas, and African Hunting Dogs; as such, it has been speculated that their characteristic spotted pattern provides a certain degree of camouflage. Only 25 to 50 percent of Giraffe calves reach adulthood; those that do have a life expectancy of between 20 and 25 years.
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Taxonmony
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Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artidactyla
Family: Giraffidae
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Source: Wikipedia Read more about Giraffes
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INFO LINKS
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Giraffe
Searworld.Org
Interesting Facts about giraffe Read More
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Maasai Giraffe
Kenya Beasts
Pictures of Maasai Giraffe Read More
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Reticulated Giraffe
Kenya Beasts
Pictures of Reticulated Giraffe Read More
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Reticulated Giraffe
Sedgwick County Zoo
Reticulated Giraffe fact sheet Read More
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Giraffe
National Geographic
Giraffe fact sheet and pictures; video clip Read More
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Giraffe
Honolulu Zoo
"The Giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. Males may be 16-18 feet tall and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. ". Categorized information on distribution, reproduction, diet, behavior, etc. Read More
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Giraffe
National Geographic - Creature Feature Archive
"Some scientists believe that other animals—such as zebras, antelope, and wildebeests—often congregate near giraffes to take advantage of their ability to see danger from a distance". Fun Facts on Giraffe. Read More
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Reticulated Giraffe
theBigZoo.com
"Giraffes are native to only Africa". Categorized information on food, habitat, predators, etc. Read More
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Reticulated Giraffe
Angelfire.com
"The reticulated giraffe is smaller than the other giraffe subspecies, with the males being 12-15 ft tall and the females being 14 ft tall". Information on appearance, habitat, breeding, enemies, relatives, etc. Read More
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Giraffe
African Wildlife Foundation
Detailed fact sheet Read More
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Rothschild's Giraffe
National Zoo
Rothschild's Giraffe fact sheet Read More
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Rothschild's Giraffe
Kenya Beasts
Pictures of Rothschild's Giraffe Read More
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Giraffe
Africana.com
Interesting narrative about Giraffe. "The giraffe belongs to the family Giraffidae. It is classified as Giraffa camelopardalis". Read More
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Masai Giraffe
http://www.angelfire.com
"The Masai giraffe is one of nine subspecies of the giraffe , which includes the reticulated , Rothschild's and Nubian giraffes". Read More
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Reticulated Giraffe
http://www.oaklandzoo.org
"Reticulated giraffe are confined to north-eastern Kenya, eastern Sudan and Eritrea". Includes information on range, diet, life cycle, special adaptations, interpretive information, etc. Read More
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Giraffe
SafariCamLive.com - African Wildlife to the World
"They are usually silent animals". Brief categorized information. Read More
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Giraffe
Houston Zoo
About Giraffe Read More
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