Giraffe

• Its tongue can be up to 50 cm long and is bluish in colour.
• It sleeps only between 30 minutes and 2 hours a day.
• Every coat pattern is unique, like a fingerprint.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)

Habitat and environment

Arid savanna, grassland and open acacia woodland across sub-Saharan Africa

Birth weight

~100 kg (a documented range of 50-150 kg depending on the source)

Size at birth

~2 metres tall at birth; walking within its first hour of life

Sexual maturity

Female: 4-5 years (first calf later) | Male: physically mature at 4-5 years, but rarely breeds before 7-8 because of social competition

Gestation / incubation

~15 months (450-465 days); one of the longest gestations of any land mammal

Litter / clutch size

1 calf (twins very rare)

Life expectancy in captivity

Up to 39-40 years documented

Sources consulted: Britannica; Animal Diversity Web; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Study.com; WildlifeExplained; ScienceInsights; Center for Biological Diversity; IUCN 2016: paso de Preocupación menor a Vulnerable por un descenso del 36-40 % de la población, de 151.702-163.452 ejemplares en 1985 a 97.562 en 2015 || IUCN 2016 (comunicado de actualización de la Lista Roja); Giraffe Conservation Foundation, revisión de 2020

Best time: All year round, best in the dry season