Giraffe Habitat

Giraffe is the tallest animal on the earth. A giraffe can be about 5.5 meters tall and the height up to its shoulder can be about 2.5 meters. Giraffe is one of the most graceful animal in the world. Have you ever thought why giraffes have long, spindly legs and gigantic necks? Giraffe habitat facts inform us that adaptations to changing habitat have helped them survive in non-indigenous and dangerous environmental conditions.

Giraffe Habitat Facts for Kids

Kids love watching huge animals like giraffes. Their scientific name is Giraffa camelopardalis and they are native to Africa. They belong to the family Giraffidae. They are found in the savannas, grasslands and open woodlands of Africa. You can definitely find them in the areas covered by Acacia (a kind of spiny tree or shrub).

Giraffe facts inform us that adult giraffes have about 27" long tongue. With the long neck, long legs and long tongue, a giraffe is able to eat leaves of the branches lying at higher level, where other animals cannot reach. Giraffes love to eat Baobab leaves. Giraffes are vegetarians and they grasp leaves with the help of their tongues.

Huge necks of giraffes contain only 7 vertebrae. The ball and socket joints in the vertebrae and the elastic blood vessels in their necks make the necks flexible. Bending down to drink water is very difficult for giraffes. Normally, a giraffe can see everything within 360 degrees without turning their heads. But when they bend down to drink water, they are in an awkward position. At that time, they cannot see animal predators or human poachers. But it is interesting to watch how they have adapted to overcome this problem. When they see abundant water, they just gulp it. A giraffe can drink about 10 gallons of water in a minute without choking! And then they can live without water for several days. The morning dew or the water obtained through leaves is enough for survival. The valves in their veins in the neck prevent them from fainting when they bend down to drink water.

Giraffes mainly feed on the Acacia and Combretum trees, but they also eat leaves of other trees when they don't get their favorite food. The upper lip and the pink and black tongue help them eat fresh leaves, delicate shoots and tasty flowers from trees. Though Acacia tree has thorns, giraffes can eat excluding thorns. And they take precaution to cover the thorns that are likely to be chewed along with the leaves, with their thick, gluey saliva. All these things show how well they have adapted to the changing environment.

Since the height, weight (a giraffe can weigh about 2400-3000 pounds), long legs and long neck make it difficult to sit down and get up, giraffes spend about 18 hours a day in feeding on grass, shrubs and tree leaves. A giraffe can store the food in one of the four compartments of the stomach and thus can survive without food or with minimum food for several days during a drought. Only 30 minutes of sleep during the day can be sufficient for them. Lying down for sleep makes it difficult for a giraffe to run away from an approaching enemy. So they have learned to live with minimum sleep! They have adapted to sleep while standing. While one giraffe in the herd sleeps, another keeps watching for danger! Their long necks help them look out for danger. A giraffe is satisfied with 5 minutes sleeping break! Giraffes are considered as intelligent animals. The winner in the neck wrestling tournament succeeds in establishing his dominance during mating.

Half of the time giraffes lower their necks to graze on plants and shrubs below their shoulder level while half of the time their necks are at an angle of 50 to 60 degrees upwards, to grab the leaves of the trees above their shoulder levels. The head and neck can be almost horizontal when a giraffe is angry and disturbed. Since folding and unfolding of legs and resting the neck on the back is not an easy task, giraffes prefer to stand. In one step, a giraffe covers a distance of 15 feet. A large male giraffe needs about 100 pounds of food per day. A giraffe lives for about 20-25 years. Giraffes live in herds. So can you imagine how much food a herd of 8-10 giraffes would require throughout the lifetime?

Giraffes need plenty of open space with grass, shrubs and trees; and a source of water to survive. Human beings are encroaching on the grasslands and destroying the forests selfishly. Trees are being cut down to build our homes, ships, to make paper, furniture, etc. We are losing our natural wealth and disturbing the environment which has already proved to be a reason for extinction of several species. I hope the above information on giraffe habitat creates awareness about preserving the forests and grasslands on the earth. Giraffe is a peace loving, quiet animal and it is our duty to preserve its habitat.