About Giraffes
Welcome to About Giraffes
Did you know Giraffes are the world’s tallest mammals. They have VERY long legs, long necks and long tongues.
They are sooo tall that a giraffe’s legs, alone, are taller than most adult humans. About 6 feet high.
No wonder they TOWER over all the other animals.
A Giraffes long legs allow them to run extremely fast. Up to 35 miles an hour over short distances.
That is almost 60 kilometres an hour. Giraffes can “cruise” comfortably at 10 miles an hour over longer distances.
That converts to 16 kilometres an hour.
In comparison it takes an adult human about 15 – 20 minutes to walk 1 mile. So it would take us 2 -3 hours to walk 10 miles.
Have you ever heard of the Okapi?
The Giraffe has one living relative called an Okapi. Have you every heard of the Okapi? It is known as the “forest” Giraffe. The Okapi looks like a cross between a deer and a zebra. However it is the Giraffes only living relative.
Click on each picture to get a better look at the fascinating Okapi.
Giraffe Tongue fun facts
Another fun fact is giraffes have a special type of tongue called a “prehensile” tongue.
What’s that? Well Giraffes tongues are similar to an elephants trunk or a monkeys tail. They all have strong muscle control.
Allowing them to grasp and hold things, particularly food.
A Giraffes tongue is very long and they are black. This black color protects their tongues from getting sunburnt. Very clever. Particularly in the hot African sun.
Their tongue is also surrounded by a thick layer of glue-like saliva. This helps protect the giraffe’s mouth from sticks and thorns.
The Giraffes long, strong, prehensile tongue allows them to pluck the tastiest leaves from in between thorns.
Their favourite food is found on the Acacia tree. The African acacia tree has sharp, mean-looking thorns that protect its leaves from animals. The thorns help the Acacia tree grow in dry environments. But the Giraffes prehensile tongue protects them from the thorns so they can eat their favourite food.
Where do Giraffes come from?
Most giraffes live in grasslands and open woodlands in East Africa. They live in reserves such as the Serengeti National Park and the Amboseli National Park.
The Serengeti is a geographical region in Africa in the northern Tanzania area. The protected area includes a huge 30,000 km² of land. The Serengeti National Park and several game reserves are in this area.
Below is a map of the Serengeti!
Want to know more about Giraffes?
There are many more amazing, fun Giraffe facts in our Majestic Giraffes Coloring in Book.
Click below to buy your own Giraffes Coloring in book today. It’s a downloadable file so you can start coloring in today.
We can also design a personalised Giraffe book for you. And we have lots more fun Giraffe facts coming on line.
So keep in touch for more exciting, beautiful Giraffe surprises.
Do you want to part of the Giraffe Club?
We are building a Giraffe fan club to share all the amazing facts and fun Giraffe, loving items.
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