 |
| A good guide line to follow ;o) |
We, MKs, love African animals especially giraffes! Ashlyn always reminds me of them, both are tall, graceful, have a hard time gaining weight, and always have their heads in the clouds (Get it...?)! Giraffes are really cool animals. Did you know
that the “giraffe
has intrigued various cultures, both ancient and modern, for its peculiar
appearance, and has often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons?” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe) “Well, you know it now, and don’t you forget it.” (Odyssey) In this blog I would like to answer the three
most commonly asked questions about giraffes. 1. Where is
there habitat? 2. What is their physical characteristics? And 3. What is there
diet? I hope you will learn a little more about these amazing animals.
Giraffes
lives in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. Giraffes
usually inhabit savannas, grasslands, and open woodlands. But they do best in dry savannah
areas like Kenya! So yes we do enjoy seeing them around here. The giraffe's scattered range extends from Chad in
the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia
in the east. (Pretty much all of Africa)
Fully grown giraffes stand 16–20 feet tall, with
males taller than females. Just think
a giraffe can look into a second-story window without even standing on his
tippy-toes! :o) The average weight is 2,628 lb for an adult male and
1,825 lb for an adult female. (Ooh, I think someone needs to join weight
watchers!) Despite its long neck and legs, the giraffe's body is relatively
short. Some people think that the
back legs look shorter than the front legs, but they are about the same
length. Located at both sides of the head, the giraffe's large,
bulging eyes give it good all-round vision from its great height. Giraffes see
in color and their senses of hearing and smell are also sharp. One time someone
told me that a giraffe can have half of his body sleeping at one time, and the
other half keeping watch. This animal can close its muscular nostrils to
protect against sandstorms and ants. The giraffe's tongue is about 20 in
long. It is purplish-black in color, some people say it’s to protect against
sunburn, and is useful for grasping foliage, as well as for grooming and
cleaning the animal's nose. (Now don’t you wish you had that ability?) The lips, tongue, and inside of the mouth are
covered in papillae to protect against thorns. (Very handy, since they eat trees and bushes with thorns.) The coat has dark
blotches or patches, which can be orange, chestnut, brown, or nearly black in
color separated by light hair usually white or cream in color. Male giraffes
become darker as they age. The
coat pattern serves as camouflage, allowing it to blend in the light and shade
patterns of savanna woodlands. While adult giraffes standing among trees and
bushes are hard to see at even a few feet away, when moving about to gain the
best view of an approaching predator, they rely on their size and ability to
defend themselves rather than on camouflage, which appears to be more important
for calves.
Giraffes
mainly eat leaves off of trees, or twigs. Mimosa and acacia trees are their favorite but
they also eat from over 100 other varieties of plants and trees. They eat
shrubs, grass, and berries. And when stressed they can eat the bark off of
trees. Although herbivorous, giraffes are said to be known to visit carcasses
and lick dried meat off bones. Their long necks make it able to reach high
branches that are out of reach for other animals. Also they can use their long
necks to eat things down low. (Pretty much, they have the best of two worlds)
They can eat hundreds of pounds of leaves a week; however, they don’t drink a lot
of water. Most of their water that they get is from the moisture of the plants they eat.
Their drinking processes looks really funny, kind-of-like the splits. They
spread out their legs and then bring their head down to drink. This is
dangerous for them because crocodiles could easily attack them in this vulnerable position.
See
what I mean giraffes are cool. They live in Africa, they look so tall and
graceful, and they eat a very nutritious diet. How many of you have all of those
things going for you?
What Giraffes tells us about themselves:
 |
| They have amazing tongue skills |
 |
| I mean it...look at him and his tongue! |
 |
| This one gets the grand award of the Best tongue |
 |
| They are very cool! |
 |
| Every one loves them! Have you ever seen a more happier sloth? |
 |
| They are very photogenic! |
 |
| They are everywhere...I mean everywhere!! |
By Sara Anne
