The giraffe

The name of this animal comes from the Arabic “Zarafa”, meaning “the charming”! As for the scientific name camelopardalis, it comes from the ancient belief that the giraffe was the result of a cross between a camel and a leopard. Nowadays, giraffes only live in Africa, but many millennia ago they also inhabited China and Southern Europe.

It is the tallest animal in the world, with large males reaching almost 6 meters high and weighing up to 1500 kg. Its long neck, adapted to its way of eating, consists of the same number of vertebrae as a human: 7 in total, but those of giraffes are 40 cm high! With its very long tongue, it can reach the small acacia leaves surrounded by terrible thorns. To pump blood through its body, especially to its brain, the giraffe has a very powerful heart weighing 11 kg.

An adult fears only the lion, and even then… it is capable of killing the lion with a kick of its hoof. Giraffe calves, however, are vulnerable if they stray too far, as lions, hyenas, leopards… are lurking.

After a gestation period of 15 months, the female gives birth standing up, with the calf falling from 2 m. Within an hour, the calf must stand up to suckle and run alongside its mother.