• Reticulated giraffe

    Reticulated giraffe

    giraffe reticulata

    A giraffe eats up to 34 kg of leaves per day. Like our cows, giraffes also belong to the ruminants and let the food go through their throat and mouth again.
    When giraffes bends down to drink, it has to spread its legs wide apart to reach the water. Although they can go up to a month without water, they drink at every opportunity. In doing so, they also always put themselves at risk of being attacked.
    Although the giraffe has a very long neck, it has only 7 cervical vertebrae, just like all other mammals. Communication takes place in the infrasound range (below 20 Hz). This means that the giraffe's vocalizations are not audible to us humans.

    Related to Even-toed ungulates, Giraffidae (4 species, 5 subspecies)
    Habitat Dry bush and tree savannahs, thornbush steppe, sparse forests and seasonal floodplains
    Social structure Females inhabit foraging areas in groups. The foraging areas of different groups may overlap. Temporary groups of up to 50 animals with traditional, local natal sites. Adult males are intolerant towards other large males in the center of their foraging area. Can lead to fighting.
    Diet Various types of leaves with high nutritional value, especially acacia. Thanks to high nutritional value and efficient digestion, they need only half as much plant material as grazers.
    Weight Females up to 1'200 kg, Males up to 1'900 kg, Newborn: 60 to 65 kg
    Apex height Females up to 4.5 m, Males up to 5.8 m
    Horns Both sexes
    Mating season All year round
    Gestation time 14 Months
    Litter size 1 Young
    Age of sexual maturity Females at approx. 3.5 years, Males at approx. 4.5 years
    Life expectancy Up to 39 years
    Population trend Just under 16,000 animals, population decreasing
    At Zurich Zoo since 2019

    Distribution

    Verbreitungskarte Netzgiraffe

    Tierstimme

    Sponsors

    IRMA L3P Architekten ETH FH SIA, AG, Regensberg
    MALOU Malou-Stiftung für Tierschutz
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    Conservation status

    IUCN RedList

    Breeding programme