In this article we will explain to you in details what do giraffes need to survive and more.
What do giraffes need to survive
So let start with places that giraffes can to survive in.
Places where the giraffe lives
Africa in all its parts, especially savannah regions, is the place where the giraffe is abundant, and it spreads in open and semi-arid forests that are scattered with small shrubs, and it is also found in grasslands, as for the countries where the giraffe lives, they are: Niger, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Chad, Zambia, Cameroon, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Namibia and Botswana.
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The presence of the giraffe is concentrated in the areas where the acacia plant sprouts, as it is considered one of the giraffe's very favorite foods, as well as in the areas where the leaves of mimosa and apricot grow, and the grassy pastures covered by the low plant are not suitable for the giraffe, as it is difficult for it to lower its head to eat, as It should be noted that its presence was within a herd of 100 giraffes, but nowadays the herd almost contains a small number ranging between two to ten giraffes only, and this is due to the reasons for poaching and climate change, which greatly affected the distribution of the number of giraffes, as the giraffe is distinguished Its ability to stay active all day long even during the night, and sleep for a very short period of less than two hours a day.
Giraffe food
The giraffe is an animal that eats plants. They eat a variety of types, such as: dense leaves and woody plants, where the giraffe spends a very long time eating, as the amount of food it eats during the day is estimated at 45 kg, and it mostly prefers to eat tree leaves, shrubs and young plant buds, and the acacia plant is the food Her favorite, it depends on her height, and the length of her tongue, which is about 53 cm, and these characteristics enable her to reach the tops of trees and tops of plants that other animals cannot easily reach, and the giraffe can stay for several weeks without the need to drink water, as you get Moisture from the leaves of plants that you eat.
Breeding giraffes
The male giraffe reaches puberty at the age of five years, and the female at the age of 3.5 years, and when the female conceives, the gestation period reaches 14-15 months, after which the mother gives birth to one child, and in very rare cases the mother may give birth to two, and the birth takes place and the mother is standing, and the newborn falls with The placenta and the bag explodes when the newborn falls on the ground, the length of the little one is 1.8 meters, and after about an hour of birth, the newborn can stand, and breastfeed from the mother, and the mother continues to nurture and breastfeed the child for a year, but after two weeks of birth the little one begins his first attempts to eat The papers. The giraffe lives up to 28 years.
What do giraffes do to survive ?
Giraffe characteristics that need to survive
The giraffe, compared to mammals, is the longest animal in the world, and the most important characteristic of it is the length of its legs and neck, as it has a triangular head topped by two horns covered with hair.
The average length of the giraffe ranges between 4.2-5.79 meters, and its weight is about 795.5-1273 kg. Its body is covered with light brown skin with black and brown spots.
The giraffe has a unique way of walking, so if it wants to move, it moves its legs on only one side of the body, and both of its legs move on the other side.
The maximum speed of the giraffe is 55 km / h, and the neck of the giraffe cannot reach the ground while standing, so it is forced to extend its front legs, or take a kneeling position until it reaches the ground to drink water.
Male and female giraffe
Male and female giraffes do not live together, but live separately from each other in the form of small herds, and meet only when mating, and this happens at any time of the year, as the period of pregnancy in the giraffe lasts from 14-16 months, and then gives birth to one child Only, the male giraffe is distinguished from the female in size and color; The male is larger in size and darker in color than the female, and the female has locks of hair at the top of her head, while the adult male tends to go bald, and his head is characterized by the presence of a mass at the front of his skull, and that mass appears more in him compared to the female, and the male giraffe smells stronger than the smell of the female. Because the fur that covers her body contains 11 aromatic chemicals.
Characteristics that help giraffe survive
It is rumored about the giraffe that it is a mute creature, that does not make any sound, but in fact it makes a sound like a mama, and it also has a very strong sense of vision and hearing, and although it rarely uses its voice, it does have a voice, not a mute.
The giraffe sleeps for a very short time, not exceeding nine minutes, and sleeps intermittently.
So that the length of each period is only three minutes, and they sleep standing up, and this is the least sleep period among breast animals. The name of the male giraffe is "bull," and it is very common to fight between male giraffes, but the females never fight with each other.
Giraffe has a distinctive skin color; Where she carries a black or brown speckled skin, and it covers all parts of her body, and the studies of scientists have confirmed that each individual giraffe has his own skin imprint, and it is never similar to any other giraffe, even in cases of twins.
So that the skin colors are distributed in each giraffe in a different and distinct way from other giraffes.
The giraffe’s bitterest enemies are the human and the lion, and if it senses any potential danger, it runs at a very fast speed, reaching forty-five kilometers per hour, and usually the lion pounces on the giraffe while it is drinking water; As her feet spread apart, she becomes in a difficult position to escape.
There are several species and subspecies of giraffes, among them are endangered species, and the most famous of giraffe strains is: the Crowman strain;
These are characterized by white legs, large horns, and the color that is characterized by reticulate, and there is the breed of Nigeria, the Rothschild strain, and the Kilimanjaro strain, and each strain differs in simple formal and color characteristics.
The giraffe does not know swimming, does not walk in swamps and ponds, and has two nostrils, which it can completely close in the dust and wind.
How do giraffes protect themselves ?
Also, a giraffe needs a male to protect it.
The following is some general information on the male giraffe :
The male giraffe is the tallest animal on Earth.
Its height reaches 5.5 meters, while the height of the female does not exceed 4.3 meters. The weight of a male giraffe reaches 1360 kilograms. Male giraffes use their necks during a fight, and one of them hits the neck of the other with his neck. The skull of a male giraffe at puberty develops protruding protrusions due to the accumulation of layers of calcium on it, and these protrusions contribute to protecting the skull from other males.
Giraffes mating is not related to a specific season. Rather, they can mate throughout the year if the female is in her oozing period, which occurs once every two weeks immediately after ovulation, and the female announces her readiness to mate by producing chemicals called pheromones, and when the male finds the female and makes sure that she is in her cycle Fascism, it follows it when it walks away, and this can continue for hours or days, and more than one male may follow it, and in this case the female rubs her head on the back of the male that she prefers, which is often the dominant male in the herd to ensure the strength of the genes of her offspring, and the female giraffe demonstrates her acceptance and readiness. To mate when standing still, and after mating, the male withdraws away from the female; He is not involved in the care and raising of the young who are born after a gestation period of 14 and a half months.
The giraffe is not considered a dangerous animal if it is not exposed to it, but it will definitely try to defend itself in the event of being hurt, by biting close to it, as its bite is strong, similar to that of a strong horse, but it is worth noting that the teeth of the giraffe are not designed to tear meat , Which means that it may be seriously hurt, so it is possible for the giraffe to dispense with the use of its teeth in battles, and instead use its long neck, which is characterized by tremendous strength that can cause a strong blow, and the giraffe usually uses it in battles with other giraffes, but the most dangerous In the giraffe, it is used for its hind or front legs and its hooves, where with a single kick it can drive its enemy to a great distance and at maximum speed, so it is never recommended to tamper with this type of animal, and caution and caution must be taken when dealing with it.
The giraffe is one of the animals that does not receive much attention by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as soon the giraffe was classified as endangered, as a large number of giraffes were exterminated from their habitats in Mauritania, Eritrea, Guinea and Senegal, and they could not be found in their habitats in Mali. Angola and Nigeria, but on the other hand they are present in both Swaziland and Rwanda, and it is worth noting that in the early twentieth century, giraffes of the Maasai strain were killed by tribesmen in East Africa, and giraffes are still targeted by poachers, in order to obtain their meat as food, or from In order to have her skin for making sandals, armor, and barrels.
What animals can kill giraffes ?
Enemies of giraffes are mainly lions, and tigers, leopards and crocodiles come in second place; These animals are able to pounce on the back of the giraffe and implant its fangs with it, but the giraffe has the ability to defend itself against these enemies by kicking it with its legs and the kick is of the strength to the extent that the giraffe is able to break the skull bone or the backbone of the enemy. As for mankind, he became its first enemy; As the numbers of giraffes decreased significantly due to overfishing, and today they are hardly seen except in sanctuaries and zoos, so humans hunted giraffes, feeding on their flesh, making clothes from their skin, and making strings of bows, ropes, and jewelry from the strings of their tail. At the level of groups, only male giraffes fight together in order to control the group, while females do not fight, but there are strict laws that control fights, so there are no fatal blows directed at the opponent, and strikes are limited to the neck and abdomen using the head.
Cheetah
The leopard is one of the most dangerous types of predators, as it preys on other animals in a frightening way, in order to obtain its food through it, as it feeds on mammals and reptiles, and its most activity is at night, and has the ability to climb tall trees while carrying its prey between its teeth, and the cheetah is known to The human being is an example of strength and courage. the wolf Wolves are among the animals that pose a threat to humans, as they try to prey on humans when they are unable to find animal prey, as they prefer to eat large-sized animals of the mammalian family, such as goats and cows, and wolves are gray in color, and live in North America and Eurasia.
the lion
The lion is an African animal, most of its activity is at night, as it spends the most time of the night chasing prey, and the lion needs a large amount of meat to feed on it, and its weight reaches about fifteen pounds, although the lions are on the throne of predators In terms of strength and ferocity, it does not prey on humans, although it used to do so in the past.
the Fox
The fox is called the red fox, which is a predatory carnivore, and the fox in the past posed a great danger to farmers and their livestock, but its activity has become negligible at the present time, as it does not pose any danger to humans at present.
Hyena
The hyena is an African animal that is very active at night, and attacks humans directly and devours it, as it is one of the most dangerous animals to human life, despite its small size, and it is characterized by high speed.
Crocodile
The crocodile is a very fierce animal that attacks humans directly when approaching its places of presence, and one of the most dangerous crocodiles is the Australian crocodile, and there is a part of these crocodiles in the Asian continent, and the size of the crocodile continues to increase for at least thirty years, which makes it a very huge animal.
The giraffe takes more than one sleeping position, as it may sleep standing, or with its neck resting on its body, and the advantage that it sleeps for a short time compared to other animals, as it was stated in some sources that it sleeps four hours a day, and in other sources it is stated that it may sleep 20 minutes, or less, throughout the day, as you stay alert for fear of predators, and you can also take a quick nap estimated at just two minutes.
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