I wonder what a baby giraffe is called? Baby giraffe?

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Giraffe: description

Today, the giraffe is considered the tallest animal, and they are quite massive. They can weigh up to 1200 kilograms, and their height is about 6 meters (2-story building), with 1/3 of the body length being the neck. The neck consists of 7 vertebrae, which is typical for many species of mammals. Females are slightly smaller in size and weight.

Appearance

This animal is a mystery, since it is difficult to even imagine how this animal copes with the loads while lowering or raising its head. This is due to the fact that his heart is located a full three meters below the level of his head and at a height of two meters from ground level. In this case, the animal's legs should swell under blood pressure, but in fact this does not happen. Blood is delivered to the brain using a cunning mechanism, but quite simple. So:

1. The main vein, located in the animal's neck, contains shut-off valves, which allows maintaining optimal blood pressure in this area.
2. The animal's blood supply is quite thick, so no consequences are observed when the giraffe waves its head. This is due to the fact that the density of red blood cells is much higher than in humans.
3. The giraffe's heart is large and powerful, and its weight is 12 kilograms. This allows you to pump up to 60 liters of blood per minute, while creating a pressure 3 times higher than in humans.

On the head of the artiodactyl there are ossicones, which look like horns covered with skin and wool. Some animals have a bony growth in the central part of the forehead, like another horn. The animal's ears are neat, although protruding, and its eyes are black, surrounded by many eyelashes.

Interesting to know! The animals have a unique oral apparatus, inside of which there is a flexible purple tongue, almost 50 cm long. The lips are dotted with short sensor hairs, with the help of which the giraffe determines the degree of maturity of the leaves and the presence of thorns.

There are nipples on the inner edges of the lips that help the mammal hold plants that the giraffe cuts with its lower incisors. This process is helped by a flexible and long tongue, which at this time curls up into a groove and clasps the plant, passing by the spines. With the help of the tongue, the animal pulls food objects to the oral apparatus.

The spotted pattern on the giraffe's body is designed to create the appearance of playing shadows in the treetops, which allows the animal to camouflage itself. There are no spots on the lower part of the body, and it is lighter. Moreover, the color of the animal depends on the nature of its habitat.

Behavior and lifestyle

The animal is characterized by having excellent vision, hearing and smell. If we add to this the enormous height, then this is a unique animal. It is capable of controlling an area of ​​up to 1 square kilometer. This allows you to notice the enemy in a timely manner, as well as keep an eye on your relatives. Giraffes begin feeding early in the morning and continue chewing cud almost all day long, hiding in the shade of huge plants. At these moments, they are half asleep, since their eyes are slightly open and their ears are constantly moving, monitoring the space. At night, giraffes fall asleep, although not for long, and they sometimes get up and then lie down on the ground again.

Interesting to know! Giraffes are on the ground in an interesting position: they tuck two forelimbs and one hind limb under themselves. At the same time, they put the second hind leg to the side and place their head on it. Since the neck is long, it looks like an arch. This position allows the animal to quickly rise in case of danger.

A colony (family) of giraffes can consist of 20 individuals. This group includes females and young animals. They disperse in the forest, but gather in groups in open areas. Mothers and babies are always nearby, but other family members can leave the herd at any time and return at any time.

The number of individuals in a group depends on the availability of food supply. Therefore, each group has a maximum of giraffe community members during the rainy season, and a minimum during dry periods. Giraffes mostly move slowly at an amble, although they occasionally demonstrate a gallop and maintain this pace for no more than 3 minutes.

Galloping is a real test for a giraffe, since it has to bend over and throw its head back, because this is associated with a shift in the center of gravity.

Despite such a complex running mechanism of this animal, a giraffe can accelerate to almost 50 km/h, and also jump over obstacles up to 2 meters in height.

How long do giraffes live?

In nature, these unique animals live no more than 25 years, but in artificial conditions (zoos) they can live at least 30 years. The first giraffes appeared in zoos in Egypt and Rome quite a long time ago, around 1500 BC. These animals appeared in European zoos only in the 20s of the last century. They were delivered to Europe on sailing ships, and then they had to travel overland. To prevent their hooves from being worn out, the giraffes wore leather sandals and were also covered with cloth from the rain. Giraffes took root in zoos and began to breed in captivity. Now they can be seen in almost all zoos in the world.

Important fact! At one time, many experts believed that giraffes were not capable of making sounds, but after some time it was discovered that the vocal apparatus of these animals is capable of producing many different sounds.

If the cubs are in danger, they make plaintive sounds without opening their lips. Adult males, especially during mating periods, make quite loud and menacing sounds. At the same time, they can growl or cough hoarsely, especially during fights for the right to own a female. In case of a slight threat, they are released into the air through the nostrils, with characteristic snoring sounds.

Giraffe - interesting facts

Subspecies of giraffes

Each of the subspecies of giraffes has a different body color pattern, which is associated with their natural habitats. Biologists argued for a long time and agreed that there are 9 subspecies of these unique animals in the world, between which crossing is possible.

Modern subspecies of giraffes include:

• The Angolan giraffe lives in Botswana and Namibia.
• The Kordofan giraffe, found in the Central African Republic and western Sudan.
• Thorneycroft's giraffe, native to Zambia.
• The West African giraffe is currently found only in Chad, although more recently it was found throughout West Africa.
• The Masai giraffe, whose natural habitats are the vast expanses of Tanzania and southern Kenya.
• Nubian giraffe, which can be found in western Ethiopia and eastern Sudan.
• Reticulated giraffe. Prefers to live in southern Somalia and northern Kenya.
• Rothschild's giraffe inhabits the territory of Uganda and is also called the Ugandan giraffe.
• South African giraffe. He is a representative of the expanses of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Interesting fact! As a rule, all individuals, even those representing the same subspecies, are distinguished by a unique and non-repeating pattern of spotted coat patterns.

Natural habitats

Giraffes are animals that can be found in their natural habitats exclusively in Africa. For their livelihoods, these artiodactyls have chosen savannas, as well as dry forests of Southern and Eastern Africa, which are located very close to the Sahara Desert. Those giraffes that preferred to live in territories located north of the Sahara were exterminated back in the era of Ancient Egypt. A century ago was marked by the fact that the habitat of such animals narrowed even more, and quite significantly. Therefore, the largest number of giraffes today is distributed among reservations and nature reserves.

Giraffe diet

These animals mainly feed in the morning and evening, and it takes them at least 12 hours to eat. Their favorite food source is acacia trees, which grow throughout the African continent. In addition to their favorite dish, their diet includes up to fifty food items of plant origin. This could be young grass, which is abundant in the savannah during the rainy season. When the moisture runs out and drought begins, giraffes have to switch to less appetizing food, which is dry acacia pods, fallen leaves and other plants that can tolerate dry periods.

Giraffes are a group of ruminants, so they always chew, even while on the move. In this case, food is digested much faster, but it takes a lot of time.

Interesting to know! Giraffes are also called “pluckers” because they eat young shoots, foxes and flowers at considerable heights.

Experts believe that giraffes are not among those animals that eat without measure, if you compare their weight relative to their size. Adult males eat about 65 kg of green space, and smaller ones - within 57 kilograms. If giraffes for some reason lack nutrients, they can chew the ground. They can be without water for a considerable time, since up to 70 percent of moisture enters their body from greens. But if they go out to a pond, they will drink it with pleasure.

Natural enemies

Despite such impressive size and strength, giraffes can still be attacked by many predators living in the same expanses of Africa. Still, attacks most often occur on young giraffes, which do not yet have as much strength as adults. If a giraffe hits the target at least once, the predator immediately loses the desire to dine, and often they simply die from their powerful front hooves. These predators include:

• Lions.
• Leopards.
• Hyenas.
• Hyena dogs.

In order for such predators to kill an adult giraffe, it is necessary to demonstrate all their hunting skills.

Reproduction and offspring

The female gives birth to her first cub after 5 years of her life, while males are ready to reproduce even later. The female gives birth to cubs every year and a half until the age of 20. As for males, not every one of them manages to leave offspring, since the strongest, healthiest and largest males take part in the breeding process.

Important point! Some mature males often live alone, walking up to 20 km daily in search of a sexual partner. Alpha males, who dominate the herd, try to prevent such a male from approaching the herd.

When they have to engage in a duel, they use their necks, striking their opponent in the belly. If someone can’t stand it, they retreat. At the same time, the winner drives away his opponent, and he freezes in the pose of a winner, lifting his tail high. Males who are in a flock constantly sniff the females to understand whether they are ready for the mating process. After fertilization, the female carries her future offspring for 15 months, after which one (very rarely two) cubs, up to two meters long, are born.

The female gives birth standing, staying close to her relatives all the time. This is a serious test for the cub, since as a result of this process he will have to fall from a 2-meter height, and he weighs quite a lot - about 70 kilograms. Despite this extreme, the newborn gets to his feet within a few minutes, and after half an hour begins to drink his mother’s milk. Within a week he can run and jump, and after another week he tries to chew various plants. At the same time, the mother feeds him milk until he is 1 year old, and after another six months the young giraffe becomes completely independent.

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Characteristic

The pattern on the fur consists of dark spots that stand out from the lighter shade of the base color, and each giraffe is individual, like a person's fingerprints. The lower part of the giraffe's body is lighter and without spots. On the head of giraffes of both sexes there are two horns covered with wool, thickened at the ends. Occasionally there are two pairs of horns. In the middle of the forehead there is often a peculiar bone growth, which can be mistaken for another unpaired horn. Black eyes are fringed with thick eyelashes, short ears. Giraffes have very good vision, hearing and smell, which allows them to notice danger in advance. Of course, tall height also contributes to a good view of the area. Giraffes can see their long relatives at a distance of up to a kilometer.

Giraffes can run fast and, in case of urgent need, reach a gallop speed of 55 km/h, that is, over short distances they can outrun a racehorse. As a rule, however, they walk slowly, moving both right legs at the same time, then both left ones. Due to their heavy weight and thin legs, giraffes can only walk on hard surfaces. These animals avoid swampy areas, and rivers often present insurmountable obstacles for giraffes. It is also noteworthy that these seemingly bulky and clumsy animals can also jump, overcoming even barriers 1.85 m high.

Subspecies

Based on their patterns and places of origin, giraffes are divided into subspecies. Crossbreeding is possible between individual subspecies. There are nine modern subspecies:

The Ugandan giraffe has brown, large, irregularly shaped spots separated by wide white stripes. The Maasai giraffe's spots are smaller and darker, and approximately five-pointed. The reticulated giraffe's spots are unique, being dark and polygonal. Narrow white stripes run between them, creating the impression of a grid. Some of the subspecies are endangered: the first three in particular have become extremely rare. The Angolan giraffe was exterminated in Angola, the country after which it was named.

Initially, subspecies of giraffes were considered independent species. Then this point of view was rejected, and scientists debated the delimitation of individual subspecies. There are often differences in pattern even within closely related herds. Therefore, some researchers were of the opinion that the characteristics of giraffe subspecies are not hereditary (and therefore, true geographical subspecies do not exist). In addition to the above subspecies, in North Africa in ancient times there were some subspecies that no longer exist today. Since some ancient Egyptian images show giraffes without spots, it has been suggested that the North African subspecies were uniformly colored and unpatterned. There are, however, also images of giraffes with spots that call such assumptions into question.

Data

• Although giraffe calves are born without horns, their future appearance site 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 wool remain with the giraffe for several years, then they wear off and disappear[14].
• The only living animal related to the giraffe is the okapi. The rest of the giraffidae are classified as extinct, see Giraffidae.

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Phylogenesis

The early history of giraffes is associated with the evolution of the entire giraffe family. Having split off from other deer-like artiodactyls in the Miocene, the ancestors of modern giraffes lived throughout Europe, Asia and Africa several million years ago. The Early Neogene was a period of prosperity for giraffidae, when they achieved both their greatest species diversity and greatest geographic distribution. Many species were already distinguished by their large size and powerful body structure (especially the genus Helladotherium

). Due to climate change during the Pleistocene, most giraffidae became extinct, leaving only two living species: the giraffe and the okapi. Both species still had short necks, but over time, giraffes began to elongate their necks, being an advantageous advantage in searching for food.

According to Namibian zoologist Rob Siemens, long necks arose as a result of males fighting with their necks. A male with a longer neck was more likely to win and receive more attention from females, thereby producing more offspring.

Interesting to know that.

1. There are five-horned giraffes. This is not the influence of Chernobyl, but a completely common natural phenomenon.

2. They grow in height up to 6 years.

3. During a gallop, the giraffe’s neck swings very strongly from side to side, making a figure eight. It seems that now she will tie herself in a knot.

4. Their saliva is incredibly thick, which helps them swallow their favorite acacia thorns without damaging the larynx.

5. The tallest animal in the world can live without water longer than a camel - weeks, or even months.

7. It is enough for him to sleep 20-120 minutes a day.

8. It is generally accepted that they are voiceless. In fact, when communicating, giraffes produce sounds with a frequency below 20 Hz, which is elusive to the human ear.

9. Their absolutely black tongue is more than 40 cm long. These “gossipers” have “long” tongues!

10. They also have the largest heart in the world (literally): weighing 10-11 kg, 60 cm long and with a wall thickness of 6 cm. These ruminants also have the highest blood pressure among animals.

Many baby animals have the most unpredictable names. When children begin to explore the world, they ask their parents a lot of questions, for example, whose baby is the lamb? Or what is the name of a baby giraffe, or a camel, or other animals. Sometimes parents don't know it themselves. To prevent this from happening, we have collected answers to all these questions in this article.