Giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. Their legs alone are taller than most of us. They are amazing animals. And when you across the ones in Kenya. To be specific, in Giraffe Center. You will definitely get a kiss from them. This is after you feed them some carrots.
They belong to the family Giraffidae and happen to be the largest ruminants. They are mainly found in woodlands and Savannah. They are native to Africa.
Being ruminants, they feed on woody plants. That is their leaves, fruits and flowers. They mainly feed on the acacia trees.They are browsers and get an opportunity to feed on the plant parts that can not be accessed by other browsers due to height.
Giraffes are social animals and live in herds. The herds may include bachelor males or related females with offspring.
Each female herd has a dominant male. Who is responsible of raising the off springs. The male has to fight his way to the dominance status. The fighting is known as “‘necking”.
Giraffes have strong and very long necks. During the “necking” the weak giraffe gets injured pretty hard. The fight only ends once one of the giraffe concedes. The defeated giraffe end up alone as he can’t go back to the other males. He is a loser.
The defeated giraffe are the best target for their predators. Since they are already hurt and weak. And no brothers around to boast his protection. Their predators include wild dogs, lions, spotted hyenas as well as leopards.
Giraffe are not easy prey to hunt. This is because of the dreadful kicks that can send the predator t instant death. They are also very strong but not very fast. The predators work in groups to hunt them.
Species and sub-species of giraffes are as follows:
Southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffe)
• Angolan giraffe (G. g. angolensis)
• South African giraffe (G. g. giraffa )
Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis )
• Nubian giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis )
• Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum )
West African giraffe (G. c. peralta)
Reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata)
Maasai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi)
In Kenya we are lucky to have two species and one sub-species of giraffe. Namely:
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Cheche Winnie 
Nice post
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Great information. We took my nephew to feed them at our local zoo last Christmas and it was so much fun. I would have stayed and hung out with the animals all day 🙂
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They are very friendly and love company of those who feed them. Especially carrots.
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Thank you for this fine article about giraffes. I am aware there is a short-necked relative of the giraffe, called the okapi, as well.
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Yes, will give you all the details about them in my next article. They belong to the special five of the north, Kenya. Keep it here and you will enjoy.
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