All about giraffes. Why does a giraffe have a long neck, horns and spots? All about giraffes Where does the giraffe live?

Giraffe(lat. Giraffa camelopardalis) is a rather colorful and unusual in appearance animal, belonging to the class mammals, order ruminant artiodactyls, family giraffidae, genus giraffes.

Description of the giraffe, appearance, characteristics.

The giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. The height (height) of the giraffe reaches 5.5 - 6.1 meters, a third of which falls on its famous neck. The weight of a male giraffe can range from 500 kg to 1900 kg, and the heart weighs as much as 12 kg: about 60 liters of blood passes through its valves per minute, and the pressure inside the vessels exceeds the standard pressure of an average person by 3 times. Due to the high density of blood, even abrupt change The position of the giraffe's head does not lead to a deterioration in the animal's condition. Despite its impressive length, the giraffe’s neck fully meets the standard characteristics of a mammal - the giraffe has 7 cervical vertebrae, each of which reaches a length of 25 cm. The main jugular vein has in its design special locking valves that are responsible for a uniform supply of blood with the same pressure.

The giraffe has quite interesting language: dark, almost brown in color, long and very muscular, it allows the animal to grab tree branches at a great height, while protruding 40-45 cm. Thus long tongue giraffes can even clean their own ears.

Giraffe color.

The color of the giraffe is also worthy of attention: the pattern of spots on the skin is absolutely unique and individual, like a person’s fingerprints, and is never repeated in two individuals. The head of both the male and female giraffe is decorated with a pair of horns covered with fur, big eyes in the border long eyelashes and small ears crown the giraffe's elongated head.

Giraffe legs.

Despite their thin legs in relation to their overall size, these mammals run well (the giraffe’s speed is 60 km/h) and jump well, overcoming barriers more than 1.5 meters high. True, the tallest animal in the world can only actively move on a hard surface - the giraffe avoids swampy soil and rivers.

How do giraffes sleep?

The giraffe bends its long legs under itself, moving one of them to the side, and then, bending into a ball, puts its head on its croup. Giraffes can also sleep standing up.

Sleep does not last long: during the night the giraffe gets up every now and then to drink or eat something. The mammal does not require many hours of sleep - a giraffe only needs from 10 minutes to 2 hours of sleep per day.

How giraffes sleep

Types of giraffes.

In the giraffe family, only 1 species of giraffe is distinguished; the remaining 5 species are considered extinct. Giraffes are classified mainly depending on where the animal lives and its color pattern. Experts count 9 subspecies (varieties) of giraffes:

lives in eastern Sudan and western Ethiopia. It has distinctive chestnut spots edged with rich white lines; males are also distinguished by an impressive bony growth on the frontal part of the skull;

Ugandan giraffe (Rothschild) lives in Uganda. Known throughout the world for the beauty of its large brown spots, separated by wide white stripes;

Reticulated giraffe (Somali) lives in northern Kenya and southern Somalia. A network of juicy brown-red spots of medium size with sharp edges and thin white lines distinguishes this subspecies from a number of relatives; females often lack a growth on the skull;

lives in Namibia and Botswana. Large brown spots with elongated accent corners give the animal’s color an extraordinary attractiveness;

Kordofan giraffe lives in western Sudan and the Central African Republic. Notable for the unevenness of the spots, the density of which increases below the hocks;

Masai giraffe lives in southern Kenya and Tanzania. The spots mostly decorate the legs, the shape of which is more like a star;

lives in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique. The golden skin is decorated with dark round spots that rarely reach the hooves;

lives in Zambia. The lighter skin has medium-sized jagged dark spots.

is in danger of extinction. In 2007, the number of individuals was only 175 animals. Habitat: Chad.

Where does the giraffe live?

The giraffe lives in the savannas of sunny Africa; the giraffe does not live on other continents. Over the past 50 years, giraffe herds can often be found in the southern and south-eastern regions of the Sahara, as well as drier areas of uninhabited land. Due to the elongated body structure and low level water consumption, this animal can live in the open forests of Africa.

Horns? Perhaps these are horns? These are certainly not antennas: the Serengeti region is not (as far as we know) home to giraffe telecommunications. They are called ossicones, and giraffes are born with them.

Photo: flickr.com

It would seem that this fact could lead to problems during childbirth for the giraffe mother. However, she hides a secret up her metaphorical sleeve. When a baby giraffe is born (called a calf), the ossicones are not attached to the skull and therefore remain flexible - at least they bend easily as the calf passes through the birth canal. Plus they are made from cartilage, not living bone.

Photo: flickr.com

It is very important. Cartilage is rubber-like tissue that protects the ends of long bones. We have cartilage around many of the components that make up our body, including the ear and nose. Thus, cartilage is much less flexible than muscle, but, on the other hand, is not as rigid and hard as bone. However, ossicone does indeed turn into bony when the giraffe grows and reaches maturity. In fact, this process begins a week after birth. The process of ossification is called ossification, which is how the strange cone-shaped protuberances get their name.

Photo: flickr.com

Ossicon is almost always covered with fur. Sometimes, however, the fur of adult males becomes peeling. As male giraffes (bulls) get older and the ossicone fuses tightly with the skull - they use the horns for their intended purpose.

Photo: flickr.com

For the fight. There are times when an adult male must fight off an opponent. Often the issue is resolved quickly: just a few blows to the opponent’s neck. However, sometimes things can get heated. Opponents are very intolerant, and when this happens, a blow follows. If they can't hit the neck, they aim for the sacrum. Check out this fascinating video showing the destruction that a fight between two mature males can cause.

There is not enough research in this part of the fossil record to determine whether ossicones evolved. Of course, the base from which deer antlers grow is similar to ossicone. Many scientists believe that since the evolved ancestors of giraffes had horns, ossicones played a supporting role for them.
Can you imagine the damage that could be caused if giraffes had horns?

Photo: flickr.com

So why did the antlers disappear? As you saw in the video, adult males fight with their long necks almost wrapped around each other. Because their necks are thinner, this means that frontal attacks using their horns would result in too much damage. a large number deaths. After all, this is a fight, not a fight against death. As the neck became longer, the need for horns disappeared. This is, of course, just a theory, but it seems to be the reason why the horns eventually disappeared, leaving only the ossicones on the giraffe's head.

Photo: flickr.com

But only time and others scientific research will show whether ossicones are the fruit of evolution, or whether they perform another unknown function.

In the section on the question Why does a giraffe have horns? given by the author I-beam the best answer is that giraffes (male and female) have a pair of so-called short blunt horns on the top of their head, covered with skin (in males they are more massive and longer - up to 23 cm; sometimes there is a third horn, on the forehead, approximately between the eyes; in males it occurs more often and is more developed). These "horns" are just two bony projections at the top of the back of the head to which the neck muscles and ligaments are attached; they can also grow greatly, resembling the shape of horns, which are called posterior, or occipital. In some individuals, usually old males, both three true horns and two posterior ones are well developed; they are called "five-horned" giraffes. Sometimes in old males other bony outgrowths are observed on the skull.

Answer from + [master]
During the mating season, battles for the female take place between male giraffes. They stand side by side and, swinging their heads on long necks (like a hammer), strike each other in the chest and neck with their horns. And although the horns are small and covered with hair, the blows, I think, are noticeable.

Answer from Salt[guru]

Horns because it is a cloven-hoofed ruminant.
Horns. Males and females have a pair of short, blunt horns covered with skin on the top of their heads. In males they are more massive and longer - up to 23 cm. Sometimes there is a third horn, on the forehead, approximately between the eyes; in males it is more common and more developed. Two bony outgrowths in the upper part of the back of the head, to which the neck muscles and ligaments are attached, can also grow greatly, resembling the shape of horns, which are called posterior, or occipital. In some individuals, usually old males, both three true horns and two posterior ones are well developed; they are called "five-horned" giraffes. Sometimes in old males other bony outgrowths are observed on the skull.
Although the baby giraffe is born without horns, the place of their future appearance is marked by tufts of black hair, under which there is cartilage. Gradually, the cartilaginous tissue ossifies, turning into small horns, which then begin to grow. Tufts of black fur remain with the giraffe for several years, then they wear off and disappear.
If, nevertheless, there is a need to find out the seniority in the herd, a kind of duel takes place between the largest males. It begins with a challenge: the applicant for the highest rank goes towards the enemy with an arched neck and lowered head, threatening him with his horns. These, in general, harmless horns, together with a heavy head, constitute the giraffe’s main weapon in the fight for primacy.

Answer from Sound combination[guru]
of course for beauty!

Answer from Anya Cherkesova[newbie]
Oh, I never even had this question before...