Tall orders Scientists have identified four species of giraffe: the Masai giraffe, the northern giraffe, the southern giraffe, and the reticulated giraffe. —giraffeconservation.org
You read it first in this week’s The Factory in Guide magazine.
Recently, scientists identified four species of giraffe, and some with subspecies. Research shows that in the wild, these giraffe species don’t seem to interbreed. Therefore, the offspring are not usually a combination of two different kinds of giraffes, but one.
Let’s take a quick look at the different kinds of giraffes. First, there is the Masai, who have a dark brown color pattern and live in central east Africa. The second kind of giraffe is the Northern. Northern giraffes include the Kordofan, Nubian and West African. Third, is the Reticulated giraffe. They live in parts of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. And finally, the Southern giraffe. The Southern giraffes include the Angolan and South African.
Giraffes, known as the tallest land mammals, live in the wilds of Africa. They can grow as tall as 18 feet or more. A group of them is called a tower! Who knew?! These animals have a lot of very cool features! For one thing they have long blue tongues! And their tongues can wrap around tree branches easily to strip off leaves for food. Because they’re able to get a lot of moisture from the leaves, they only have to drink every few days! Which is good, because they either kneel or spread their front legs apart so they can reach water, but this makes them easier targets for other hungry animals.
Giraffes have large hearts to pump blood through their tall bodies. This helps them to run! They can do a short run, of up to 37 miles per hour, or 10 miles per hour for a longer run. With their long necks, it’s easier for them to spot lurking danger. They also use their neck to show affection toward each other, almost like a giraffe hug! And males will use their necks to fight each other, slapping and pushing them together.
By studying newborn giraffes, scientists were able to help astronauts! Due to weightlessness in space, astronauts’ leg veins get weaker because their heart doesn’t work as hard to pump blood. When it’s born, a baby giraffe’s legs rapidly inflate with blood. Newborn giraffes go from floating in mother, to walking on strong “land” legs in under one hour. NASA used the design of blood vessels in giraffe legs for its space suits! It’s amazing how studying things in nature can help us in many practical ways!
Giraffes are amazing creatures with their four different species and many different fun features! God made a very unique and special animal when he created the giraffe, and scientists are learning more about these beautiful, elegant beasts every day!
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Hey, check out this giraffe live web cam from the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina! Here’s a picture we snapped from their camera!
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