Giraffe Facts
Find out some interesting giraffe facts, and share them with your friends or school mates. Did you know that giraffes tongue is almost 2 feet long? Read on!
- Giraffes’ life span is 20-28 years.
- A giraffe’s tongue is black.
- The name Giraffe Camelopardalis means ‘one who walks quickly, a camel marked like a leopard’.
Giraffes are nonterritorial and sociable. They live in loose, open herds.
- Male giraffes weigh 3,000-4,000 lbs. (1360 – 1814 kilograms) and can reach 20 feet (6 meter) height.
- Female giraffes weigh 1,500-2,500 lbs. (680 – 1133 kilograms) and are about 14 (4 meter) feet tall.
- An adult giraffe’s heart is 2 feet long and weighs about 20 pounds.
- The mighty giraffe can drink 12 gallons in one setting.
- Giraffes cannot cough.
- Giraffes spend most of their lives standing up; they even sleep and give birth standing up.
- Newborn giraffe calves begin their lives by falling 6 feet to the ground.
- Giraffes only spend between 10 minutes and two hours asleep per day.
- Males and females tend to eat from different parts of a tree to ensure that the sexes do not compete for food.
- Young giraffes hang out in nursery groups until they are around 5 months old.
- Male giraffes will often neck wrestle to establish dominance in their herds.
Check out some interesting facts about zebras!
