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A giraffe rests by lying with its body on top of its folded legs. [32]: 329 To lie down, the animal kneels on its front legs and then lowers the rest of its body. To get back up, it first gets on its front knees and positions its backside on top of its hindlegs. It then pulls the backside upwards, and the front legs stand straight up again.
The common name derives from the Somali name for the animal (gáránúug); the first recorded use of the name dates back to 1895. [7] It is also known as the "giraffe gazelle" due to its similarity to the giraffe. [8] Two subspecies have been proposed, but these are considered to be independent species by some authors. [3] [9] [10] [11]
Despite her rare neck deformity, Gemina reached an old age for a giraffe. She outlived the average giraffe by almost six years. [2] In December 2007 and January 2008, Gemina stopped eating and her health began to deteriorate due to old age. [2] She was reluctantly euthanized by her keepers at the Santa Barbara Zoo on January 9, 2008. [2] [3]
To get a sip of water from a water hole, a giraffe will splay its legs in an awkward-looking manner. The one-way valves in their veins prevent blood from flowing to their brain as they lower their ...
Despite the vast difference in neck length, the okapi (left) and the giraffe (right) both have seven cervical vertebrae (as do all mammals except for manatees and sloths). The earliest members of the Giraffidae first appeared in the early Miocene in Africa, having diverged from the superficially deer-like climacoceratids .
An adult giraffe head can weigh 30 kg (66 lb), and if necessary, male giraffes establish a hierarchy among themselves by swinging their heads at each other, horns first, a behavior known as "necking". A subordinate okapi signals submission by placing its head and neck on the ground. Giraffes are sociable, whereas okapis live mainly solitary lives.
The northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), also known as three-horned giraffe, [2] is the type species of giraffe, G. camelopardalis, and is native to North Africa, although alternative taxonomic hypotheses have proposed the northern giraffe as a separate species. [3] [1]
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