Have you ever wondered what the world’s tallest land mammal is? It is the Giraffe! (Giraffa.) Considering its amazing heights ranging anywhere from 14 feet to 18 feet, (which is 4.3-5.5 meters) it has an insanely long neck, with legs adapted specifically for feeding on high canopy foliage, primarily acacia! Giraffes have little horns on the tips of their heads, which are known as ossicones. Although, they are just skin covered bone; not actual horns, which are on both genders. Although there is nothing special or interesting about their horns, it is still a cool feature that giraffes have. While mentioning features and characteristics, giraffes have scarily long tongues, ranging from 18-20 inches! (45-50 cm.) Not only are their tongues weirdly long, they are also a bluish purple and prehensile! This helps giraffes to avoid sunburn while safely navigating through thorny acacia trees. With giraffes tongues being dark blue, purple, or black it acts as a natural given sunscreen! While giraffes spend an estimated time of up to 12 hours overtime throughout the day feeding, their tongues are constantly exposed to the intense African sun, and the dark pigmentation caused by high concentrations of melanin, absorbs the UV rays! Oh, also another thing about their cute little horns called ossicones; males are the only ones who actually use them for something, and that’s to fight!
Giraffes are mainly, and mostly known to live in the Savannas, as well as grasslands and open woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. These tall land mammals prefer the areas with scattered trees, specifically acacia. Although, some giraffe species don’t have the same overall interest when it comes to habitat, while some prefer arid zones, others can prefer wet savannahs! These have a patchy distribution, mostly in East and Southern Africa including protected areas like the Serengeti National Park and Kruger National Park. Giraffes prefer areas where there is easy access to where they can get some fresh water, but they can survive in dry areas with going days without drinking water! Giraffes have a very small diet, typically consuming around 66 pounds of food per day but can survive on as little as 33 pounds. Giraffes eat leaves and twigs of acacia, mimosa, and wild apricot trees! And no, giraffes do not hunt or eat meat, they love their different types of leaves and trees ! Also, another thing! Surprisingly, giraffes can go throughout their day with just a minimum of sleep 30 minutes a day, while taking short naps usually ranging around 5 minutes long!
