Giraffe Species In Africa

Giraffes are beautiful species that embellish the African landscape. There is no way to mistake a giraffe for any other animal out there in the world. The tall and lanky body covered in spots is very unusual and an animal that most people enjoy seeing. They have adapted to a variety of habitats and can be found in desert landscapes to woodland and savanna environments south of the Sahara, wherever trees occur. Genetic research led to a new taxonomic classification in 2016 when the formerly single species of giraffes changed to four species, five subspecies and two ecotypes. The new species are

Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis): (3 subspecies and 1 Ecotype) Nubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis), Kordofan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum) West African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) and Rothschild’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) – Ecotype

 

 

Southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa): (2 subspecies) South African giraffe (Giraffa giraffa giraffa) Angolan giraffe (Giraffa giraffa angolensis)

 

 

 

Reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata.  It is also known as the Somali giraffe, and it also has a unique skin design, which makes it perhaps the easiest to identify from all the species of giraffe.

Anatomy

The anatomy of the giraffe is amazing if you consider they have a heart that weighs about 25 pounds, four chambers to the stomach, and valves that turn off the flow of blood to their necks when they bend down. Their body anatomy is no much different from other species except for the coat and size. They are slightly smaller in height and weight. They can move at a pace of 35 miles per hour when they gallop.

They have a height of 13 to 16 feet and a weight of around 2,600 pounds. The spots on their coat are very well defined and have a uniform brown color. They cover most of their body, including the face and tail, and the separation between them are narrow, and well-delineated white gaps, resulting in a coat that resembles polygonal figures.

From the knees down, those brown marks fade to be completely white and get lost with the background of the same color. The same thing happens in the ventral zone. Like all species and subspecies, they have a short, vertical mane on the neck from the head to the hump.

Its neck contains seven vertebrae just like humans, but the length of each one is what makes its elongated feature. Their blood pressure is regulated and adapts to sudden changes in their movements, such as when they are drinking water.

Source :https://www.giraffeworlds.com/somali-giraffe/

 

Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi). – (1 Ecotype) Thornicroft’s giraffe – Ecotype. As all giraffe species, the Masai giraffes are native to the African continent, specifically to the savannas at the center and south of Kenya, as well as Tanzania. The Rhodesian giraffe, an ecotype of the Masai giraffe, inhabits only the Luangwa Valley in Zambia. Rwanda also has a few relocated specimens.

 

The giraffe genus (Giraffa) is part of the Giraffidae family, which contains only one other species: the rare okapi, the closest relative of the giraffe.

Both male and female giraffes have ‘horns’ at birth. More properly known as ‘ossicones’, they lie flat and are not attached to the skull to avoid injury at birth. They only fuse with the skull later in life. Giraffe horns become formidable weapons in adult males, worn bare of skin at the tips – old bulls may even have patches of bare bone elsewhere on their massive, craggy heads.

They are the tallest animals in the world, reaching a height up to 6 meters with seven vertebrae in their necks, just like humans except their bones are extremely elongated making their neck a long length of 2.4 meters. The heart of a giraffe weighs about 22 pounds and can reach up to 2 feet long.

Just like human fingerprints, no two giraffes have the same pattern. Researchers who spend long enough studying the same giraffes eventually find that they can recognize dozens or even hundreds of individuals from their patterns.

Giraffes are avid eaters when food is plentiful. They prefer to consume what is in the trees including twigs and leaves but also consume a variety of fruits that seasonally grow in the trees. What they eat depends on the time of year and where they inhabit. While these browsers’ diverse diets have been reported to contain up to 93 different plant species, acacia trees have been found to be their favorite food source. African acacias trees are thorny, but with the help of their tongue, they manage to hold the leaves without hurting, since such prehensile muscle of about 45 cm long has small papillae as well as the mouth, which helps cushion the sharp elements of trees and shrubs. Similarly, its sticky, thick saliva covers the spines that could swallow, so that they are not in danger of damaging any internal organs of their body. Giraffes use their height to good advantage and browse on leaves and buds in treetops that few other animals can reach, the 21-inch tongue helps them pluck tasty morsels from branches.

Giraffes eat most of the time and, like cows, regurgitate food and chew it as cud. But you might be more surprised to discover that the seemingly gentle giraffe also eats bones. Giraffes aren’t predators, so they don’t kill other animals, but their huge skeletons require more calcium and phosphorous than they can get from a strictly vegetarian diet. The easy solution is to chew the bones from carcasses to make their own bones stronger, a behavior known as osteophagy.

The arrival of the giraffes to the world is not the most gentle. After a gestation period ranging from 425 to 465 days, that is approximately 15 months, calves born falling to the ground from almost two meters height from the mother who remains standing up during the birth.

Source content :Anne Innis Dagg. Giraffe: Biology, Behaviour and Conservation. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Page 135.

December 2018
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *