Giraffes

1.

2.

3.

giraffe - жираф
[ʤɪˈrɑːf]
Kordofan giraffe -
[kəˈrdəfeɪn ʤɪˈrɑːf]
Кордофанский жираф
Northern giraffe Северный жираф
[ˈnɔːðən ʤɪˈrɑːf]

4.

Nubian giraffe -
[ˈnjuːbɪən ʤɪˈrɑːf]
Нубийский жираф
Rothschild's giraffe -
[ˈrɒθsʧaɪld'es ʤɪˈrɑːf]
жираф Ротшильда
West African giraffe Западноафриканский
жираф
[west ˈæfrɪkən ʤɪˈrɑːf]

5.

reticulated giraffe -
[rɪˈtɪkjʊleɪtɪd ʤɪˈrɑːf]
сетчатый жираф
Southern giraffe -
[ˈsʌðən ʤɪˈrɑːf]
Южный жираф
South African giraffe Южноафриканский
жираф
[saʊθ ˈæfrɪkən ʤɪˈrɑːf]

6.

Masai giraffe - жираф
[mɑːˈsɒɪ ʤɪˈrɑːf]
Масаи
Rhodesian giraffe Родезийский жираф
[rəʊˈdiːʒ(ə)n ʤɪˈrɑːf]

7.

Giraffe

8.

The giraffe is an African artiodactyl mammal, the tallest living terrestrial animal and
the largest ruminant. It is traditionally considered to be one species, Giraffa
camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. However, the existence of up to nine extant
giraffe species has been described, based upon research into the mitochondrial and
nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements of Giraffa. Seven other species
are extinct, prehistoric species known from fossils.
The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs,
its horn-like ossicones, and its distinctive coat patterns. It is classified under the
family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range
extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the
west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their
food source is leaves, fruits and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species,
which they browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach.
Giraffes may be preyed on by lions, leopards, spotted hyenas and African wild dogs.
Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring, or bachelor herds of
unrelated adult males, but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations. Males
establish social hierarchies through "necking", which are combat bouts where the
neck is used as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear
the sole responsibility for raising the young.

9.

Fully grown giraffes stand 4.3–5.7 m tall, with males taller than females. The average
weight is 1,192 kg for an adult male and 828 kg for an adult female. Despite its long
neck and legs, the giraffe's body is relatively short. The skin of a giraffe is mostly
gray, or tan, and can reach a thickness of 20 mm. The 80–100 centimetres long tail ends
in a long, dark tuft of hair and is used as a defense against insects.
The coat has dark blotches or patches (which can be orange, chestnut, brown, or
nearly black in colour) separated by light hair (usually white or cream in colour).
Male giraffes become darker as they age. The coat pattern has been claimed to serve
as camouflage in the light and shade patterns of savannah woodlands. When standing
among trees and bushes, they are hard to see at even a few metres distance. However,
adult giraffes move about to gain the best view of an approaching predator, relying
on their size and ability to defend themselves rather than on camouflage, which may
be more important for calves. Each individual giraffe has a unique coat pattern.
Giraffe calves inherit some coat pattern traits from their mothers, and variation in
some spot traits are correlated with neonatal survival. The skin underneath the
blotches may serve as windows for thermoregulation, being sites for complex blood
vessel systems and large sweat glands.
The fur may serve as a chemical defence, as its parasite repellents give the animal a
characteristic scent. At least 11 main aromatic chemicals are in the fur, although
indole and 3-methylindole are responsible for most of the smell. Because the males
have a stronger odour than the females, the odour may also have sexual function.

10.

Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and open woodlands. They prefer Acacieae,
Commiphora, Combretum and open Terminalia woodlands over denser
environments like Brachystegia woodlands. The Angolan giraffe can be found in
desert environments. Giraffes browse on the twigs of trees, preferring trees of the
subfamily Acacieae and the genera Commiphora and Terminalia, which are
important sources of calcium and protein to sustain the giraffe's growth rate. They
also feed on shrubs, grass and fruit. A giraffe eats around 34 kg of foliage daily. When
stressed, giraffes may chew the bark off branches. Giraffes are also recorded to chew
old bones.
During the wet season, food is abundant and giraffes are more spread out, while
during the dry season, they gather around the remaining evergreen trees and bushes.
Mothers tend to feed in open areas, presumably to make it easier to detect predators,
although this may reduce their feeding efficiency. As a ruminant, the giraffe first
chews its food, then swallows it for processing and then visibly passes the halfdigested cud up the neck and back into the mouth to chew again. The giraffe requires
less food than many other herbivores because the foliage it eats has more
concentrated nutrients and it has a more efficient digestive system. The animal's
faeces come in the form of small pellets. When it has access to water, a giraffe drinks
at intervals no longer than three days. Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that
they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving
"waistlines" to trees that are too tall. Feeding is at its highest during the first and last
hours of daytime. Between these hours, giraffes mostly stand and ruminate.

11.

Kordofan giraffe

12.

The Kordofan giraffe is a subspecies of giraffe found in northern Cameroon, southern
Chad, Central African Republic and possibly western Sudan. Historically some
confusion has existed over the exact range limit of this subspecies compared to the
West African giraffe, with populations in e.g. northern Cameroon formerly assigned
to the latter. Genetic work has also revealed that all "West African giraffe" in
European zoos are in fact Kordofan giraffe. It has been suggested that the Nigerian
giraffe's ancestor dispersed from East to North Africa during the Quaternary period
and thereafter migrated to its current Sahel distribution in West Africa in response to
the development of the Sahara desert. Compared to most other subspecies, the
Kordofan giraffe is relatively small at 3.8 to 4.7 meters, with more irregular spots on
the inner legs. Its English name is a reference to Kordofan in Sudan. There are around
2,000 individuals living in the wild.
The Christian Science Monitor lists only 38 individuals being alive in the embattled
Garamba National Park in The Democratic Republic of Congo due to poaching; their
skin is used for luxury goods and they are said to produce enough meat to feed
poachers for weeks. Recent genetic studies also shows distinct genetic populations of
giraffes that makes conservation of these subspecies even more important.

13.

Northern giraffe

14.

The northern giraffe, also known as three-horned giraffe, is the type species of giraffe
native to North Africa.
In the current IUCN taxonomic scheme, there is only one species of giraffe with the
name G. camelopardalis and nine subspecies, but alternative taxonomic hypotheses
have proposed two to eleven species.
Once abundant throughout Africa since the 19th century, it ranged from Senegal,
Mali and Nigeria from West Africa to up north in Egypt. The West African giraffes
once lived in Algeria and Morocco in ancient periods until their extinctions due to the
Saharan dry climate. It is isolated in South Sudan, Kenya, Chad and Niger.
All giraffes are considered Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN. In 2016, around
97,000 individuals from all subspecies were present in the wild. There are currently
5,195 northern giraffes.
The northern giraffe has two horn-like protuberances known as ossicones on their
foreheads. The northern giraffe's are longer and larger than that of the southern
giraffes', though bull northern giraffes have a third cylindrical ossicone in the center
of the head just above the eyes which are from 3 to 5 inches long.

15.

The Northern giraffes live in the savannahs, shrublands and woodlands. After local
extinctions in various places, the Northern giraffes are the least numerous species and
the most endangered. In East Africa, they are mostly found in Kenya and
southwestern Ethiopia, though rarely in northeastern Democratic Republic of the
Congo and South Sudan. There are about 2,000 in the Central African Republic, Chad
and Cameroon of Central Africa. Once widespread in West Africa, a few hundreds of
Northern giraffes are confined at the Dosso Reserve of Kouré, Niger. They are
common both in and outside of protected areas.
The earliest ranges of the Northern giraffes were in Chad during the late Pliocene.
were once abundant in North Africa. They lived in Algeria since early Pleistocene
during the Quaternary period. They lived in Morocco until their extinction around
the year AD 600, as the dry climate of the Sahara made conditions impossible for the
giraffes. They are also extinct in Libya and Egypt.

16.

Nubian giraffe

17.

The Nubian giraffe is the nominate subspecies of giraffe. It is found in Ethiopia,
Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan. It is currently extinct in the wild of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Eritrea. The Nubian giraffe used to be
widespread everywhere on Northeast Africa. The subspecies was listed as Critically
Endangered by the IUCN in 2018 for the first time due to a 95% decline in the past 3
decades.
Giraffes occurred everywhere in Africa; the Nubian giraffe was widespread
throughout North Africa, from Kenya to Egypt. The giraffe lives in savannahs and
woodlands. The Nubian giraffe currently lives in eastern South Sudan and
southwestern Ethiopia, and isolated pockets in Uganda and Kenya. It was estimated
in 2010 that fewer than 250 live in the wild, although this number was uncertain.
However, as of 2016, it was recently estimated that 2,150 Nubian giraffes live in the
wild, 1,500 of those of the Rothschild's ecotype. Fewer than 200 now live in western
Ethiopia and about 450 in eastern South Sudan. There are 800 in Kenya and more than
1,550 in Uganda.

18.

Rothschild's giraffe

19.

Rothschild's giraffe is a subspecies of the Northern giraffe. It is one of the most
endangered distinct populations of giraffe, with 1,669 individuals estimated in the
wild in 2016.
The Rothschild's giraffe is easily distinguishable from other subspecies. The most
obvious sign is in the coloring of the coat or pelt. Whereas the reticulated giraffe has
very clearly defined dark patches with bright-whitish channels between them,
Rothschild's giraffe more closely resembles the Masai giraffe. However, when
compared to the Masai giraffe, the Rothschild's ecotype is paler, the orange-brown
patches are less jagged and sharp in shape, and the connective channel is of a
creamier hue compared to that seen on the reticulated giraffe. In addition,
Rothschild's giraffe displays no markings on the lower leg, giving it the impression
of wearing white stockings.
Another distinguishing feature of Rothschild's giraffe, although harder to spot, is the
number of ossicones on the head. This is the only Giraffa phenotype to be born with
five ossicones. Two of these are the larger and more obvious ones at the top of the
head, which are common to all giraffes. The third ossicone can often be seen in the
center of the giraffe's forehead, and the other two are behind each ear. They are also
taller than many other populations, measuring up to 5.88 metres tall. They can weigh
up to 2,500 pounds.

20.

Males are larger than females by a few hundred pounds and their two largest
ossicones are usually bald from sparring. They usually tend to be darker in colour
than the females, although this is not a guaranteed sexing indicator.
Isolated populations of Rothschild's giraffes live in savannahs, grasslands, and open
woodlands of Uganda and Kenya. They are possibly regionally extinct from South
Sudan and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Rothschild's giraffes mate at any time of the year and have a gestation period of 14 to
16 months, typically giving birth to a single calf. They live in small herds, with males
and females (and their calves) living separately, only mixing for mating. The
Rothschild's giraffes are tolerant of other animals around them as long as they don't
feel threatened. For the most part, they are very friendly, but the males are known to
engage in fights for mating. Since this species can mate all year long, those battles
seem to be frequent.

21.

West African giraffe

22.

The West African giraffe, Niger giraffe or Nigerien giraffe, is a subspecies of the
giraffe distinguished by its light colored spots, which is found in the Sahel regions of
West Africa.
In the 19th century it ranged from Senegal to Lake Chad, yet in 2011 this subspecies
only survives in a few isolated pockets containing about 400 individuals in total. Its
last self-sustaining herd is in southwest Niger, supported by a series of refuges in
Dosso Region, and the tourist center at Kouré, some 80 km southeast of Niamey. All
captive so-called "West African giraffe" are now known to be the Kordofan giraffe.
The Nigerien giraffe population relies upon seasonal migration between the
relatively drought-resistant lowlands of the Niger River valley and the drier
highlands near Kouré. In this area, Tiger bush habitat allows for bands of trees to
thrive in climates which might otherwise become more typical desert.
The West African giraffe survive primarily on a diet of leaves from Acacia albida and
Hyphaene thebaica as well as Annona senegalensis, Parinari macrophylla,
Piliostigma reticulatum, and Balanites aegyptiaca. In the late 1990s, an antidesertification project for the area around Niamey encouraged the development of
woodcutting businesses. An unintended effect of this was the destruction of much
Tiger bush and giraffe habitat within the region. The Nigerien government has since
moved to limit woodcutting in the area.

23.

Reticulated giraffe

24.

The reticulated giraffe, also known as the Somali giraffe, is a species of giraffe native
to the Horn of Africa. It lives in Somalia, southern Ethiopia, and northern Kenya.
There are approximately 8,500 individuals living in the wild. The reticulated giraffe
was described and given its binomial name by British zoologist William Edward de
Winton in 1899, however the IUCN currently recognizes only one species of giraffe
with nine subspecies.
Reticulated giraffes can interbreed with other giraffe species in captivity or if they
come into contact with populations of other species in the wild.
Together with the Rothschild's giraffe, it is by far the giraffe that is most commonly
seen in zoos. Its coat consists of large, polygonal, liver-colored spots outlined by a
network of bright-white lines. The blocks may sometimes appear deep red and may
also cover the legs. Giraffes are the tallest mammals in the world.
Reticulated giraffes historically occurred widely throughout Northeast Africa. Their
favored habitats are savannas, woodlands, seasonal floodplains, and rainforests.

25.

Southern giraffe

26.

The southern giraffe, also known as two-horned giraffe, is a proposed species of
giraffe native to Southern Africa. However, the IUCN currently recognizes only one
species of giraffe with nine subspecies.
Southern giraffes have rounded or blotched spots, some with star-like extensions on a
light tan background, running down to the hooves. They range from South Africa,
Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique. Their approximate
population is composed of 44,500 individuals.
The Cape subspecies of the southern giraffe has dark, somewhat rounded patches
"with some fine projections" on a tawny background colour. The spots extend down
the legs and get smaller. The median lump of bulls is less developed.
The southern giraffes live in the savannahs and woodlands of northern South Africa,
Angola, southern Botswana, southern Zimbabwe, Zambia and south-western
Mozambique. After local extinctions in various places, the South African giraffes
have been reintroduced in many parts of Southern Africa, including in Swaziland.
They are common in both inside and outside of protected areas.
Southern giraffes usually live in savannahs and woodlands where food plants are
available. Southern giraffes are herbivorous mammals. They feed on leaves, flowers,
fruits and shoots of woody plants such as Acacia.

27.

South African giraffe

28.

The South African giraffe or Cape giraffe is a subspecies of giraffe ranging from
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique. It has rounded or
blotched spots, some with star-like extensions on a light tan background, running
down to the hooves.
The South African giraffe has dark, somewhat rounded patches "with some fine
projections" on a tawny background colour. The spots extend down the legs and get
smaller. The median lump of males is less developed.
The South African giraffe is found in northern South Africa, southern Botswana,
southern Zimbabwe, and south-western Mozambique. After local extinctions in
various places, the South African giraffes have been reintroduced in many parts of
Southern Africa, including in Eswatini. They are common in both in and outside of
protected areas. South African giraffes usually live in savannahs and woodlands
where food plants are available. Giraffes are herbivorous animals. They feed on
leaves, flowers, fruits and shoots of woody plants such as Acacia.
South African giraffes live in a fission-fusion society system based on things such as
sex, age, season, and kinship. This allows them to adapt better to environmental
changes around them.

29.

Masai giraffe

30.

The Masai giraffe, also spelled Maasai giraffe, also called Kilimanjaro giraffe, is the
largest species of giraffe. It is native to East Africa. The Masai giraffe can be found in
central and southern Kenya and in Tanzania. It has distinctive, irregular, jagged, starlike blotches that extend to the hooves. A median forehead lump is usually present in
bulls.
The Masai giraffe is distinguished by jagged spots on its body, geographic range
including southern Kenya and all of Tanzania, and genetic evidence. It is the largestbodied giraffe species, making it the tallest land animal on Earth.

31.

Rhodesian giraffe

32.

The Rhodesian giraffe, more commonly known as Thornicroft’s giraffe, is a
subspecies of giraffe. It is sometimes deemed synonymous with the Luangwa giraffe.
It is geographically isolated, occurring only in Zambia’s South Luangwa Valley. An
estimated 550 live in the wild, with no captive populations. The lifespan of the
Rhodesian giraffe is 22 years for males and 28 years for females. The ecotype was
originally named after Harry Scott Thornicroft, a commissioner in what was then
North-Western Rhodesia and later Northern Rhodesia.
Rhodesian giraffes are tall with very long necks. They have long, dark-colored
tongues and skin-colored horns. Giraffes have a typical coat pattern, with regional
differences among subspecies. The pattern consists of large, irregular shaped brown
to black patches separated by white to yellow bands. Male giraffes' coats darken with
age, particularly the patches. The darkening of the coat has not been studied
extensively enough to indicate absolute age, however it can estimate relative age of
male Rhodesian giraffes.
Giraffes occur in arid and dry-savannah zones in sub-Saharan Africa, provided trees
are available as a food source (IUCN). The Rhodesian giraffe is endemic to Zambia.
Giraffes are herd animals with an extremely flexible social system.

33.

Giraffes are exclusively browsers that primarily feed on leaves and shoots of trees
and shrubs. Giraffes consume deciduous plants in the wet season and transition to
evergreen and semi-evergreen species in the dry season. They choose flowers, fruits,
and pods when they are available. They are true ruminants with fore stomach
fermentation. Their food intake is approximately 2.1% of the body mass of females
and 1.6% for males. They obtain their water through the foliage they consume, but
drink regularly when water is available. Giraffes seek out acacia species when
browsing. Their feeding stimulates shoot production of the species
The Rhodesian giraffes breed throughout the year. They reach sexual maturity at
approximately six years, and then produce offspring approximately every 677 days.
About half of all calves die before one year of age, due to predation. Giraffes can
become pregnant while lactating, a very unusual characteristic.