By Carrie Williford | January 9, 2022
Giraffes are the world’s tallest land animal, and that’s just the beginning of their impressive qualities. Here are a stack of facts for all giraffe fans.
- Newborn giraffes can walk within an hour of birth.
- Giraffes and humans have something in common: we both have 32 teeth!
- Giraffes can gallop up to 40 miles an hour (64 km).
- A group of giraffes is called a “tower.”
- Giraffes can eat around 74 pounds (34 kg) of leaves in a day.
- Giraffes are the tallest land animals.
- Giraffes don’t need to drink very often (once every few days). They get most of their liquid from the leaves they eat.
- Baby giraffes are 6 feet (1.9 m) tall when they are born.
- One well-placed kick from a giraffe is enough to kill a lion.
- A giraffe’s neck can weigh about 600 pounds (272 kg).
- Just like fingerprints in humans, no two giraffe fur patterns are the same.
- Giraffes give birth standing up.
- The only close relative to the giraffe is the okapi.
- A giraffe’s tongue is 21 inches (53 cm) long.
- A giraffe’s lungs can hold up to 12 gallons of air.
Sources
- Anne Innis Dagg, 5 Giraffes: (Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2016)
- Valerie Bodden, Amazing Animals: Giraffes (Mankato, MN: The Creative Company, 2011)
- Nicole Helget, Giraffes (Mankato, MN: Creative Education,2009)
- Natasha Daly, “Lions cling to giraffe’s back in risky attack,” National Geographic, January 29, 2019.
- “Giraffe,” National Geographic Kids, accessed January 1, 2022.
- “Giraffe,” San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers, accessed January 1, 2022.
- Giraffe Conservation Foundation, “Giraffe guide: species facts, lifespan and habitat,” Discover Wildlife, January 7, 2020.
- “Facts About Giraffe,” Giraffe Conservation Foundation, accessed January 1, 2022.
- “10 Giraffe Facts,” National Geographic Kids, accessed January 1, 2022.
- “Giraffe Fact Sheet,” Nature, July 15, 2020.