The Giraffe Conservation Foundation began World Giraffe Day as an awareness campaign to highlight some of the challenges these long-necked creatures face globally.
Get to know giraffes better, and even learn something new, today with these interesting facts.
- Calves spend a lot of their time lying down or standing with small amounts of movement to concentrate their entire food intake toward growth. Growing fast is part of a giraffe’s ‘anti-predator strategy.’
- Their main pair of horns are present in the embryo. They lie flat until a few days after birth.
- They have the strongest tongue of any animal, which can be more than 20 cm long
- There are 117 000 giraffes worldwide
- Giraffes can spot early danger signs and alert animals nearby due to their superior vision and height
- Giraffes do in fact have a voice box. However, due to their narrow trachea and small lung capacity, it is difficult to produce sounds.
- They have small power naps while standing throughout the day due to predatory dangers. They have one of the shortest sleep requirements of all mammals.
- They live up to 25 years in the wild
- They can eat up to 45 kg of twigs and leaves a day
Pictures: GettyImages
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