One of the 3 giraffes on WAnimals
Mammals · Artiodactyla · Giraffidae
Masai Giraffe
Giraffa tippelskirchi
Endangered
At very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.
The Masai giraffe is the largest and darkest of the giraffes, recognisable by its irregular, jagged-edged patches, like vine leaves, on a cream ground. It lives in Kenya and Tanzania and is the giraffe seen in the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. It browses mainly on acacias, and its prehensile bluish tongue, some 45 centimetres long, lets it handle thorny branches. It lives in loose groups whose composition changes daily. It has lost close to half its population in three decades.
Weight
800 kg – 1.9 t
Size
4 m – 5.5 m
Life expectancy
25 years
