Giraffe

 
Setswana Name:  Thutlwa
 
Scientific Name: 

Giraffa camelopardalis
 

Ancient cultures in Africa revered the giraffe, as some modern cultures do today, and commonly depicted it in prehistoric rock and cave paintings. Unknown outside of Africa, early written records described the giraffe as "magnificent in appearance, bizarre in form, unique in gait, colossal in height and inoffensive in character."
 
The giraffe is the tallest living animal, uniquely adapted to reach vegetation inaccessible to other herbivores. Giraffes have a distinctive walking gait, moving both right legs forward, then both left. At a gallop, however, the giraffe simultaneously swings the hind legs ahead of and outside the front legs, reaching speeds of 35 miles an hour. It has unusually elastic blood vessels with a series of valves that help offset the sudden buildup of blood (and to prevent fainting) when the head is raised, lowered or swung quickly.
Giraffe "horns" are actually knobs covered with skin and hair above the eyes that protect the head from injury. A beautiful lattice pattern consisting of large, irregular shades parches separated by networks of light-coloured bands covers the body. The colouring of the patches is very variable, ranging from light fawn to almost black. Old bulls are often very dark.
 

Giraffes are active during the day and at night but usually rest during the hot midday hours. Although they occupy large home ranges, they do not establish defended territories. The giraffe is non-territorial and social; it lives in very loose, open herds with no specific leaders or coordination of herd movement. This structure reflects that a giraffe’s size makes a “safety in numbers” tactic unnecessary, and that the trees they feed on tend to be spaced apart. Dominance between males is established by “necking”—swinging heads at one another in tests of strength.
 
Although giraffe are generally believed to be silent they do have a range of grunting and snorting calls. The neck is so long the giraffe must spread its front legs apart so its head can reach the ground to drink. The Giraffe’s height allows it to keep in contact with other giraffes over large distances as well as spotting predators from afar. It is not uncommon to see other animals following a giraffe using it as an early predator warning system. The Giraffe is vulnerable when drinking. It is a quiet species although the males fight viciously for dominance over the group.

Reproduction
Calves weighing about 100kg may be born at any time of the year after a gestation period of about 450 days. The newly born calf can stand and walk within an hour of birth but remains isolated from the herd for up to three weeks. Receptive cows are continuously courted by adult bulls.
Nursery groups of young animals are left alone together during the day while their mothers feed. The 6-foot-tall calf grows rapidly as much as an inch a day. By two months the young giraffe is eating leaves and at six months is fairly independent of its mother. A young giraffe can even survive early weaning at two or three months. Although few predators attack adult giraffes, lions, hyenas and leopards take their toll on the young. Scientists report that only a quarter of infants survive their first year of life.

Habitat
Dry savanna woodland. Giraffe is widely distributed throughout the northern and central parts of Botswana as far south as Khutse Game Reserve and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
 

Food
Giraffe are browsers. When protected, giraffes can flourish in areas where food is abundant year round. Although they drink water when it's available, they can survive where it is scarce. They occasionally eat grass and a fruit of various trees and shrubs, but their principal food source, is the acacia tree. The tree's sharp horns do not seem to stop the giraffe, which has a long, muscular tongue specially adapted to select, gather and pluck foliage. The giraffe is a selective feeder and although it feeds 16 to 20 hours a day, it may consume only about 65 pounds of foliage during that time. It can maintain itself on as little as 15 pounds of foliage per day.
 

Giraffe tails are highly prized by many African cultures. The desire for good-luck bracelets, fly whisks and thread for sewing or stringing beads have led people to kill the giraffe for its tail alone. Giraffes are easily killed and poaching (now more often for their meat and hide) continues today.