| iGiraffe |
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Conservation status
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Conservation dependent (LR/cd)[1]
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| Scientific classification |
| Kingdom: |
Animalia
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| Phylum: |
Chordata
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| Class: |
Mammalia
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| Order: |
Artiodactyla
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| Family: |
Giraffidae
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| Genus: |
Giraffa
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| Species: |
G. camelopardalis
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Binomial name
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Giraffa camelopardalis
Linnaeus, 1758 |
The Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is girraffe an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species. Males can giraff be 4.8 to 5.5 metres (16 to 18 feet) tall and weigh up to 1,360 kilograms (3,000 pounds). The record-sized bull was 5.87 m (19.2 feet) tall and weighed approximately 2,000 kg (4,400 girafe lbs.). [2] Females are generally slightly shorter and weigh less than the males do.
The giraffe is related to deer and cattle, but is placed in a separate family, the Giraffidae, diraffe consisting only of the giraffe and its closest relative, the okapi. Its range extends from Chad to South Africa.
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Contents
- 1 Etymology girffe garaffe and history
- 2 Physical characteristics
- 3 Social structure, reproduction and sexuality
- 4 Other behavior
- 5 Evolutionary perspectives
- 6 Giraffe subspecies
- 7 Gallery
- 8 References
- 9 External jiraffe links
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Etymology and history
The species name camelopardalis (camelopard) is derived from its early Roman name, where it was described as having characteristics of both a camel and a leopard .[3] The English word camelopard first appeared girafffe in the 14th century, and survived in common usage well into the 19th century. A number of European languages retain giraffee it. The Arabic word الزرافة ziraafa or zurapha, meaning "assemblage" (of animals), or just "tall", was used in English giarffe from the sixteenth century on, often in the Italianate form giraffa.
Physical characteristics
Giraffes use their long, prehensile tongues to extend their reach. Specimen at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC.
Male giraffes are around 15–17 feet tall at the horn tips, and weigh 1700–4200 lb. Females are one to two feet shorter and weigh giaffe several hundred pounds less than males. firaffe Both sexes have horns, although the horns of a female are smaller. The prominent horns are formed from ossified cartilage and are called ossicones. Males sometimes develop calcium deposits which form bumps on their skull as they age, which giraffe can give the appearance of up to three further horns.[4]
Giraffes have spots covering their entire bodies, except their underbellies, with each giraffe having a unique pattern of giraffes spots. They have long, prehensile tongues that are distinctly cartoon giraffe blue-black to protect from sunburn. Giraffes have long necks, which they use to browse the leaves of trees. They possess seven vertebrae giraffe facts in the neck (the usual number for a mammal). They also have slightly elongated forelegs, about 10% longer than their hind legs.
Modifications to the giraffe's baby giraffe structure have evolved, particularly to the circulatory system. A giraffe's heart, which can weigh up to 10 kg (24 lb), has to generate around double the normal blood pressure for an average large mammal in order to maintain blood flow to the brain against gravity. In the giraffe clipart upper neck, a complex pressure-regulation system called the rete mirabile prevents excess blood flow to the brain when the giraffe lowers its head giraffes mating to drink. Conversely, the blood vessels in the lower legs are under great pressure (because of the weight of fluid pressing down giraffe pictures on them). In other animals such pressure would force the blood out through the capillary walls; giraffes, however, have a very tight sheath of thick skin over their lower limbs little giraffe which maintains high extravascular pressure in exactly giraffe gifts the same way as a pilot's g-suit.citation needed]
Social structure, reproduction and sexuality
Female giraffes associate in groups giraffe cartoon of a dozen or so members, occasionally including a few younger males. Males tend to albino giraffe live in "bachelor" herds, with older males often leading solitary lives. Reproduction is polygamous, with a few older males impregnating all the fertile females in a herd. Male giraffes determine female fertility by tasting the female's urine to detect estrus in a multi-step giraffe ornament process known as the flehmen response.
Giraffe gestation lasts between 14 cartoon giraffes and 15 months, after which a single calf is born. The mother gives birth standing up and the embryonic sack actually bursts when the baby falls to the ground. Newborn giraffes are about 1.8 metres tall. Within a giraffe and picture few hours of being born, calves can run around and are animated giraffe indistinguishable from a week-old calf; however, for the first two weeks, they spend most of their time lying down, guarded by the mother. While adult giraffes are too large to be attacked giraffe tongue by most predators, the young can fall prey to lions, leopards, hyenas, and African Wild Dogs. It has been speculated that their pictures of giraffes characteristic spotted pattern provides a certain degree of camouflage. Only 25 to 50% of giraffe calves reach adulthood; the life expectancy is between 20 and 25 years in the wild giraffe coloring page and 28 years in captivity.(Encyclopedia of Animals).
The males often engage in necking, which has giraffe costume been described as having various functions. One of these is combat. These battles can be fatal, but are more often less severe. The longer a neck is, and giraffe mating the heavier the head at the end of the neck, the greater force a giraffe will be able to deliver in a blow. It has also been observed giraffe jokes that males that are successful in necking have greater access to estrous females, so that the length of the giraffe rug neck may be a product of sexual selection.[5]
Another function of necking is affectionate and sexual, in which two males will caress and court each other, leading up to mounting and climax. Same sex relations giraffe camouflage are more frequent than heterosexual behavior. In one area 94% of mounting incidents were of a homosexual nature. The proportion of same sex courtships varies between 30 giraffe drawings and 75%, and at any given time one in twenty males will be engaged in affectionate necking behavior with another male. Females, on the other hand, only appear to have same sex relations in 1% giraffe habitat of mounting incidents.[6]
Other behavior
The giraffe browses on the twigs of trees, preferring plants of the Mimosa genus; but it appears that it can live without inconvenience on other giraffe favors giraffe nametags vegetable food. A giraffe can eat 63 kg (140 lb) of leaves and twigs daily.
The pace of the giraffe is an amble, though when pursued it can run extremely fast. geoffrey the giraffe It can not sustain a lengthened chase. Its leg length compels an unusual gait with the left legs moving together followed by right (similar to pacing) at low giraffe print speed, and the back legs crossing outside the front at high speed.
The giraffe defends itself against threats by kicking with great force. A single well-placed kick of an adult giraffe can shatter a lion's skull or break its spine.
The giraffe giraffe hoof pictures has one of the shortest sleep giraffe wallpaper requirements of any mammal, which is between 10 minutes and two hours in a 24-hour period. This has led to the myth that giraffes cannot lie down and that if they do so, they will die.
A giraffe will picture of a baby giraffe clean off any bugs that appear on its face with pictures of giraffe its extremely long tongue (about 18 inches/45 centimeter). The tongue is tough on account of the giraffe's diet, which includes thorns from the tree it is making a meal of. In Southern giraffe clip art Africa, giraffes are partial to all acacias — especially Acacia erioloba — and possess a specially-adapted tongue and lips that appear to be immune to the vicious thorns.
Giraffes are thought to be giraffe drawing mute; however, although generally quiet, they have been heard to grunt, snort and bleat and also recent research has shown evidence that the animal communicates at an infrasound level[7].
The instinct of some other giraffe skin African animals is giraffe sounds to stay close to the giraffe, for the giraffe's high vantage point can see predators from far away.[8]
Evolutionary perspectives
Female Giraffe with calf, in Kenya.
The long blonde giraffe neck allows a giraffe to eat from the tops of trees. However, since female giraffes are not cute giraffe as tall as male giraffes and tend to feed from much lower heights than their male counterparts, it is hard to say that they need the long necks purely for metabolic reasons. giraffe skeliton Furthermore, the additional length that helps a giraffe reach the top food sources makes it difficult for the same creature to drink. The ecological niche which at giraffe birth least male giraffes utilize is only used by a single giraffe cousin other species, the African Elephant. It may be that the long neck originally evolved when the benefit of filling the ecological niche was more pronounced due to the presence of other, now extinct, giant ungulates in Africa. citation needed]
It has been observed that males use their long giraffe gif necks not only for feeding, but also for combat and competition. Indeed, sexual dimorphism is strongly represented among giraffes, with females origami giraffe having shorter, lighter necks than males. A female's neck and head mass will level off after about ten years of age, while a male's will cartoon giraffes pictures continue to increase throughout its twenty-plus years of life.
Giraffe subspecies
There are nine generally accepted subspecies, differentiated by color and pattern variations and range:
Giraffe subspecies range map
- Reticulated or cute giraffe cartoons Somali Giraffe (G.c. reticulata) — large, polygonal liver-colored spots outlined by a network of bright white lines. The blocks may sometimes appear deep red and giraffe sound may also cover the legs. Range: northeastern Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia.
- Angolan or Smoky Giraffe (G.c. angolensis) — giraffe symbol large spots and some notches around the edges, extending down the entire lower leg. Range: Angola, Zambia.
- Kordofan Giraffe (G.c. antiquorum) — smaller, more irregular spots that do cover the inner legs. Range: western and southwestern Sudan.
- Masai or Kilimanjaro Giraffe giraffe wall clock (G.c. tippelskirchi) — jagged-edged, vine-leaf shaped spots of dark chocolate on a yellowish background. Range: central and southern Kenya, Tanzania.
- Nubian Giraffe (G.c. camelopardalis) — large, four-sided spots of little giraffe baby blanket chestnut brown on an off-white background and no feeding the giraffes at busch gardens of florida spots on inner sides of the legs or below the hocks. Range: eastern Sudan, northeast Congo.
- Rothschild's or Baringo or Ugandan Giraffe (G.c. rothschildi) — deep giraffe cartoons brown, blotched or rectangular spots with poorly defined cream lines. Hocks may be spotted. Range: Uganda, north-central Kenya.
- South African Giraffe (G.c. giraffa) — rounded or blotched spots, some with star-like giraffe color dress extensions on a light tan background, running down to the hooves. Range: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique.
- Thornicroft or giraffe print stroller Rhodesian Giraffe (G.c. thornicrofti) — star-shaped or leafy spots extend to the lower leg. Range: eastern Zambia.
- West African or Nigerian Giraffe (G.c. peralta) — numerous pale, yellowish red spots. Range: the giraffes Niger, Cameroon.
Some scientists regard Kordofan and West African Giraffes as a single subspecies; similarly with Nubian and Rothschild's Giraffes, and with Angolan and South African Giraffes. coloring book giraffe Further, some scientists regard all populations except the Masai Giraffes as a single subspecies. By contrast, scientists have proposed giraffe anatomy four other subspecies — Cape Giraffe (G.c. capensis), Lado Giraffe (G.c. cottoni), Congo Giraffe (G.c. congoensis), and Transvaal Giraffe (G.c. wardi) — but none of these is widely accepted.
Gallery
References
- ^ Antelope giraffe print fabric Specialist Group how to face paint a giraffe (1996). Giraffa camelopardalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 05 May 2006.
- ^ San Diego Zoo giraffe fact sheet Retrieved 14 August 2006.
- ^ http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/camelopard.htm
- ^ http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giraffe.html
- ^ Robert E. Simmons and Lue Scheepers: Winning by little giraffes a neck: Sexual selection in the evolution of giraffe. The American Naturalist, 148 (1996): pp. 771-786.
- ^ # baby giraffes Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; pp.391-393
- ^ http://www.animalvoice.com/Giraffe.htm
- ^ http://www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/wildlife_giraffe.htm
External dying giraffe links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Giraffe
- Giraffes: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation
- ARKive - images and movies of the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis).
- Introduction to the history of the Giraffe in Middle Ages (French)
- Animal Diversity Web - Giraffa camelopardalis
- Giraffe Central giraffe birthday party supplies web directory
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- PBS Nature: Tall Blondes (Giraffes)
- Giraffe Pictures and Observations
- Matt's World of Wicked Giraffes
- Giraffe facts and photos giraffe halloween costumes - Wild Animals Online encyclopedia
- Mating System
- Giraffe Info Sheet
- Giraffe photos and information
- Long-term suppression of fertility in female giraffe using the GnRH agonist deslorelin as a long-acting implant
Categories: Articles with unsourced rothchild's giraffe statements | Giraffes | Mammals of Africa | Fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Fauna giraffe circulation of Namibia | Fauna of West Africa | Fauna of Ethiopia | Fauna of Sudan | Fauna of Zambia | Fauna of Angola | Fauna giraffe posters of East Africa | Fauna of Kenya | Fauna of giraffe reading Tanzania
