The giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis, is the tallest land animal in the world and can grow up to 5.5 metres tall. It is particularly fond of acacia leaves and uses its slender 45 cm long tongue to slip between the thorns of the tree and pick the tender shoots.
Profile
Vulnerable (VU)
Lifestyle
The male giraffe is a bit too forward with the females in the group. As soon as they are on heat, every 15 days, he is in a hurry to court them and has no reservations about dismissing his rivals by slamming them with… his neck. To limit confrontations, it is best to keep him apart from the rest.
Distinctive features
No other mammal in the savanna is as tall as the giraffe and can pick the leaves from the treetops. It uses its 45 cm long tongue to gather the young, tender shoots, avoiding the thorns.
Its heart weighs over 10 kg and is very powerful, pumping the blood with enough force to reach its brain over 2 metres away (compared to 30 cm in humans). It pumps up to 60 litres of blood per minute. The distance between a giraffe’s heart and brain is, in fact, over 2 metres, compared to 30 cm in Man. Its arteries are very elastic and can cope with high blood pressure.
Anecdote
The anatomical features required for the giraffe to pump the blood to its brain, deal with the difference in blood pressure when it lowers its head to drink and prevent its legs from swelling, have inspired NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in its design of astronauts’ anti-gravity spacesuits.
