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| | Giraffe (Latin: Giraffa camelopardalis) —mammal from artiodactyla order, giraffidae family. Giraffe is the tallest land-living animal of the planet. For difference from related Okapi (“Forest Giraffe”), it is sometimes called “Steppe Giraffe”.
Characteristics:
Males attain heights of up to 5.5 m and weigh up to 900 kg. Females, as a rule, are somewhat lesser in height & lighter. Neck in giraffes is extraordinarily long and this in spite of the fact that, as in almost all other mammals, they have only seven oblong cervical vertebrae. This condition increases load on blood circulation system, especially with respect to supply to brain. Therefore, heart is especially strong in giraffes. Heart in giraffes pumps 60 ltr of blood per minute & weighs 12 kg & creates pressure, which is three times more than the pressure in a human being. Nevertheless, it could not withstand overload while abrupt lowering & raising of head of giraffe. Giraffe’s blood is much thicker & has twice higher density of red blood cells than in a human being so that the abrupt movements of the giraffe’s neck did not cause death to the animal. Besides this, giraffe has special blocking valves in big cervical vein, which blocks the flow of blood in such a manner that the pressure is retained in main artery, which supplies to brain. Dark tongue of giraffe is very long & muscular: giraffe can extend the tongue upto 45 cm & is capable of grasping the branches with it.
Giraffes are capable of running very fast & in case of acute necessity, giraffes can attain a speed of 55 km/hr using gallops and which means that the giraffes can overtake race horses in short distances. As a rule, they, however, walk very leisurely, moving simultaneously on both front feet & then on both left feet. Due to its heavy weight & thin legs, giraffes can walk only on hard surface. These animals avoid marshlands & rivers are often unconquerable barriers for giraffes. It is noteworthy that even though these animals appear bulky and sluggish, they can jump overcoming even barriers up to height of 1.85 m.
Natural habitat:
Giraffes are found in savannas of Africa. Today, the giraffes can be found only in the south of Sahara, firstly in steppes of East & South Africa. Population of north of Sahara was eradicated by human being very long back: During the times of Ancient Egypt, the giraffes existed in delta of Nile & on coasts of Mediterranean Sea. In the XXth century, natural habitat of giraffes once again reduced considerably. Presently, largest population of giraffes is found in wildlife parks & reserves.
Living:
Giraffes are exclusively herbivores. Body structure & physiology of giraffes allow them to eat foliage of crowns of a tree - at height, where they do not have competitors. Giraffes gladly prefer entire acacia from trees. Giraffe holds the branch with its long tongue & pulls the branch towards mouth and plucks the leaves by moving the head backwards. Tongue & lips are structured constructed in such a manner that they do not get damaged inspite of thorny boughs. Daily, giraffes require around 30 kg of food & spends somewhere between sixteen to twenty hours for food. Giraffes sleep only for a very short period, about one hour a day. Liquid requirement is covered, mainly, due to the food, which gives the giraffe to manage without water for over a week. If at all the giraffe drinks water, it can drink upto 38 ltrs of water in a single go. While drinking water, the giraffe is compelled to move the front legs wide apart so as to lower the head sufficiently low. In this pose, giraffe being slow is especially vulnerable to predators & hence the giraffe drinks water only when it is convinced that there is no danger. In the same way, giraffe collects food from ground & it happens only when it is hungry.
Widespread opinion prevails that the giraffes are voiceless animals. Actually, the giraffes communicate between themselves at frequencies of less than 20 Hz, which are not audible to human beings.
Mating period usually lasts from July till September & gestation period makes 14-15 months. As a rule, only one calf is born. Giraffes give birth in standing position & hence, the new-born calf has to fall from 2m height. Immediately after the birth, new-born calf is 1.8 m tall & weighs 50 kg. Within an hour of birth, the new-born calf stands upright on its legs & within few hours, it starts to run. However, the calves are allowed into herds only after two-three weeks. The young giraffe remains with mother for about one & half years. At the age of four, giraffe attains sexual maturity & at six, it grows into a full-grown giraffe. In wild nature, life expectancy is about 25 years & in national reserves, the life expectancy touches 35. |
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