GIRAFFE PREDATORS AND PREY SKIN

The longer a neck is, and the heavier the head at the end of the neck, the greater force a giraffe will be able to deliver in a blow. These battles can be fatal, but are more often less severe. The males often engage in necking, which has been described as having various functions. Only 25 to 50% of giraffe calves reach adulthood the life expectancy is between 20 and 25 years in the wild and 28 years in captivity ( Encyclopedia of Animals). It has been speculated that their characteristic spotted pattern provides a certain degree of camouflage. While adult giraffes are too large to be attacked by most predators, the young can fall prey to lions, leopards, hyenas, and African Wild Dogs. Within a few hours of being born, calves can run around and are indistinguishable from a week-old calf however, for the first two weeks, they spend most of their time lying down, guarded by the mother. Newborn giraffes are about 1.8 metres tall. The mother gives birth standing up and the embryonic sack actually bursts when the baby falls to the ground. Giraffe gestation lasts between 14 and 15 months, after which a single calf is born. Male giraffes determine female fertility by tasting the female's urine to detect estrus in a multi-step process known as the flehmen response. Reproduction is polygamous, with a few older males impregnating all the fertile females in a herd. Males tend to live in 'bachelor' herds, with older males often leading solitary lives.

Social structure, reproduction and sexualityįemale giraffes associate in groups of a dozen or so members, occasionally including a few younger males.

GIRAFFE PREDATORS AND PREY SKIN

In other animals such pressure would force the blood out through the capillary walls giraffes, however, have a very tight sheath of thick skin over their lower limbs which maintains high extravascular pressure in exactly the same way as a pilot's g-suit. Conversely, the blood vessels in the lower legs are under great pressure (because of the weight of fluid pressing down on them). In the upper neck, a complex pressure-regulation system called the rete mirabile prevents excess blood flow to the brain when the giraffe lowers its head to drink. A giraffe's heart, which can weigh up to 10 kg (24 lb), has to generate around double the normal blood pressure for an average large mammal in order to maintain blood flow to the brain against gravity. Modifications to the giraffe's structure have evolved, particularly to the circulatory system. They also have slightly elongated forelegs, about 10% longer than their hind legs. They possess seven vertebrae in the neck (the usual number for a mammal). Giraffes have long necks, which they use to browse the leaves of trees. They have long, prehensile tongues that are distinctly blue-black to protect from sunburn. Giraffes have spots covering their entire bodies, except their underbellies, with each giraffe having a unique pattern of spots. Males sometimes develop calcium deposits which form bumps on their skull as they age, which can give the appearance of up to three further horns. The prominent horns are formed from ossified cartilage and are called ossicones. Both sexes have horns, although the horns of a female are smaller. Females are one to two feet shorter and weigh several hundred pounds less than males.

Male giraffes are around 15–17 feet tall at the horn tips, and weigh 1700–4200 lb. Specimen at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC. Giraffes use their long, prehensile tongues to extend their reach. The Arabic word الزرافة ziraafa or zurapha, meaning 'assemblage' (of animals), or just 'tall', was used in English from the sixteenth century on, often in the Italianate form giraffa. A number of European languages retain it. The English word camelopard first appeared in the 14th century, and survived in common usage well into the 19th century. The species name camelopardalis (camelopard) is derived from its early Roman name, where it was described as having characteristics of both a camel and a leopard.

Its range extends from Chad to South Africa. The giraffe is related to deer and cattle, but is placed in a separate family, the Giraffidae, consisting only of the giraffe and its closest relative, the okapi. Females are generally slightly shorter and weigh less than the males do. The record-sized bull was 5.87 m (19.2 feet) tall and weighed approximately 2,000 kg (4,400 lbs.). Males can be 4.8 to 5.5 metres (16 to 18 feet) tall and weigh up to 1,360 kilograms (3,000 pounds). The Giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species.

Giraffe predators and prey