Giraffe Facts

About the giraffe

Long necks let giraffes browse the flowers, fruits and leaves of woody plants, mostly acacias, at heights other ground-dwelling plant eaters cannot reach. Their range is scattered from Chad south to South Africa and from Niger east to Somalia, mainly in savannahs and woodlands. Horn-like ossicones sit on the head, and the coat pattern helps tell the species apart. Predators that may hunt them include spotted hyenas, African wild dogs, leopards and lions.

Females live in herds with their young, while unrelated adult males form bachelor herds, though giraffes are sociable and sometimes gather in large groups. Males settle rank by necking, bouts where the neck becomes a weapon, and the winners get to mate. Mothers raise calves alone. Giraffes were long treated as one species with nine subspecies, but researchers have proposed splitting them into four species. The okapi is their closest living relative.

Did you know?

• No ruminant on Earth is larger than the giraffe.
• Fossils reveal six valid Giraffa species that have since gone extinct.
• Giraffes are gone from much of the land they once roamed but still live in many national parks.