Giraffes (genus Giraffa) are large African hoofed mammals. They are the tallest living terrestrial animals and the largest ruminants on Earth. They are classified under the family Giraffidae, along with their closest extant relative, the okapi. Traditionally, giraffes have been thought of as one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into four extant species, with seven subspecies, which can be distinguished morphologically by their fur coat patterns. Six valid extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.

The distinguishing characteristics of giraffes are their extremely long neck and legs, horn-like ossicones, and spotted coat patterns. Their 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. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other ground-based herbivores cannot reach. Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males but are gregarious and may gather in large groups. Males establish social hierarchies through "necking", combat bouts in which they use the neck as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for rearing the young.

Giraffes have intrigued various ancient and modern cultures for their peculiar appearance and have often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. They have been extirpated from many parts of their former range. Giraffes are still found in many national parks and game reserves, and estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in 2010.

Etymology

The name "giraffe" has its earliest known origins in the Arabic word (), of an ultimately unclear Sub-Saharan African language origin. The modern English form developed around 1600 from the French .

"Camelopard" () is an archaic English name for the giraffe; it derives from the Ancient Greek (), from (), "camel", and (), "leopard", referring to its camel-like shape and leopard-like colouration.

Taxonomy

Evolution

Giraffes, along with the okapi, are the only living members of family Giraffidae in the order Artiodactyla.

The family Giraffidae was once much more extensive, with over 10 fossil genera described. The elongation of the neck appears to have started early in the giraffe lineage. Comparisons between giraffes and their ancient relatives suggest vertebrae close to the skull lengthened earlier, followed by lengthening of vertebrae further down. One early giraffid ancestor was Canthumeryx, which has been dated variously to have lived , 17–15 mya or 18–14.3 mya and whose deposits have been found in Libya. This animal resembled an antelope and had a medium-sized, lightly built body. Giraffokeryx appeared 15–12 mya on the Indian subcontinent and resembled an okapi or a small giraffe, and had a longer neck and similar ossicones. Bohlinia, which first appeared in southeastern Europe and lived 9–7 mya, was likely a direct ancestor of Giraffa. Bohlinia closely resembled modern giraffes, having a long neck and legs and similar ossicones and dentition. Some researchers have hypothesised that this new habitat, coupled with a different diet, including acacia species, may have exposed giraffe ancestors to toxins that caused higher mutation rates and a higher rate of evolution.

Species and subspecies

thumb|right|alt=Approximate geographic ranges, fur patterns, and phylogenetic relationships between some giraffe subspecies|Map showing "Approximate geographic ranges, fur patterns, and [[phylogenetics|phylogenetic relationships between some giraffe subspecies based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. Coloured dots on the map represent sampling localities. The phylogenetic tree is a maximum-likelihood phylogram based on samples from 266 giraffes. Asterisks along branches correspond to node values of more than 90% bootstrap support. Stars at branch tips identify paraphyletic haplotypes found in Maasai and reticulated giraffes". During the 1900s, various taxonomies with two or three species were proposed. A 2007 study on the genetics of giraffes using mitochondrial DNA suggested at least six lineages could be recognised as species. A 2011 study using detailed analyses of the morphology of giraffes, and application of the phylogenetic species concept, described eight species of living giraffes. A 2016 study also concluded that living giraffes consist of multiple species. The researchers suggested the existence of four species, which have not exchanged genetic information between each other for one to two million years.

A 2020 study showed that, depending on the method chosen, different taxonomic hypotheses recognizing from two to six species can be considered for the genus Giraffa. That study also found that multi-species coalescent methods can lead to taxonomic over-splitting, as those methods delimit geographic structures rather than species. The three-species hypothesis, which recognises G. camelopardalis, G. giraffa, and G. tippelskirchi, is highly supported by phylogenetic analyses and also corroborated by most population genetic and multi-species coalescent analyses. A 2021 whole genome sequencing study suggests the existence of four distinct species and seven subspecies, which was supported by a 2024 study of cranial morphology. A 2024 study found a higher amount of ancient gene flow than expected between populations.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Species and subspecies of giraffe

! Description

! Image

! Eight species taxonomy Compared to the Nubian giraffe, this subspecies has smaller and more irregular spotting patterns. Its spots are present on insides of the legs, sometimes below the hocks. A median lump is present in males.

| rowspan="4" colspan="2" style="border-bottom:0px none| Northern giraffe <br />(G.&nbsp;camelopardalis)

|-

| The Nubian giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis), is found in eastern South Sudan and southwestern Ethiopia, in addition to Kenya and Uganda. Around 2,150 are thought to remain in the wild, with another 1,500 individuals belonging to the Rothschild's ecotype. In 2003, this group numbered 14.

|150px

| rowspan="2" |Nubian giraffe <br />(G.&nbsp;camelopardalis) This giraffe has large dark patches with normally well-defined edges but sometimes split. The dark spots may also have swirls of pale colour within them. Spotting rarely reaches below the hocks and rarely to the hooves. This ecotype may also develop five "horns". with red lobe-shaped blotches that reach under the hocks. The ossicones are more erect than in other subspecies, and males have well-developed median lumps.

Also known as Niger giraffe or Nigerian giraffe

|-

| The reticulated giraffe (G. c. reticulata) is native to northeastern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, and Somalia. A 2024 study found that the reticulated giraffe is the result of hybridisation between northern and southern giraffe lineages.

|150px

| colspan="2" | Reticulated giraffe <br />(G.&nbsp;reticulata),

Also known as Somali giraffe

|style="border-top:0px none;" | <!-- empty cell joined to northern giraffe by hiding border -->

|-

| The Angolan giraffe (G. c. angolensis) A 2009 genetic study on this subspecies suggested the northern Namib Desert and Etosha National Park populations form a separate subspecies. This subspecies is white with large brown blotches with pointed or cut edges. The spotting pattern extends throughout the legs but not the upper part of the face. The neck and rump patches tend to be fairly small. The subspecies also has a white ear mark.

Also known as Cape giraffe

|-

| The Masai giraffe (G. c. tippelskirchi) can be found in central and southern Kenya and in Tanzania.

|150px

|Thornicroft's giraffe <br />("G.&nbsp;thornicrofti")

Also known as Luangwa giraffe or Rhodesian giraffe

|}

The first extinct species to be described was Giraffa sivalensis from Pakistan, the holotype of which was reevaluated as a vertebra of separate species within the genus that was initially described as a fossil of the living giraffe. Another extinct species Giraffa punjabiensis is known from Pakistan. Four other valid extinct species of Giraffa known from Africa are Giraffa gracilis, Giraffa jumae, Giraffa pygmaea and Giraffa stillei.

Anatomy

thumb|upright|alt=Photograph of a Giraffe skeleton|Giraffe skeleton on display at the [[Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City]]

Fully grown giraffes stand tall, with males taller than females. The average weight is for an adult male and for an adult female. Despite its long neck and legs, its body is relatively short. and can reach a thickness of . The coat pattern has been claimed to serve as camouflage in the light and shade patterns of savannah woodlands. Calves inherit some coat pattern traits from their mothers, and variation in some spot traits is correlated with calf survival. The skin under the blotches may regulate the animal's body temperature, being sites for complex blood vessel systems and large sweat glands. Spotless or solid-colour giraffes are very rare, but have been observed.

The fur may give the animal chemical defense, as its parasite repellents give it a characteristic scent. At least 11 main aromatic chemicals are in the fur, although indole and 3-methylindole are responsible for most of the smell. Because males have a stronger odour than females, it may also have a sexual function.

thumb|alt=Closeup photograph of a giraffe head|Closeup of the head of a Southern giraffe

Both sexes have prominent horn-like structures called ossicones, which can reach . They are formed from ossified cartilage, covered in skin, and fused to the skull at the parietal bones. Compared to other ungulates, giraffe vision is more binocular and the eyes are larger with a greater retinal surface area. Giraffes may see in colour, A giraffe's tongue is about long. It is black, perhaps to protect against sunburn, and can grasp foliage and delicately pick off leaves. Along the neck is a mane made of short, erect hairs. They comprise 52–54 per cent of the length of the giraffe's vertebral column, compared with the 27–33 percent typical of similar large ungulates, including the giraffe's closest living relative, the okapi. This elongation largely takes place after birth, perhaps because giraffe mothers would have a difficult time giving birth to young with the same neck proportions as adults. The giraffe's head and neck are held up by large muscles and a nuchal ligament, which are anchored by long thoracic vertebrae spines, giving them a hump. However, this proposition is not generally accepted, as T1 has other morphological features, such as an articulating rib, deemed diagnostic of thoracic vertebrae, and because exceptions to the mammalian limit of seven cervical vertebrae are generally characterised by increased neurological anomalies and maladies. Charles Darwin originally suggested the "competing browsers hypothesis", which has been challenged only recently. It suggests that competitive pressure from smaller browsers, like kudu, steenbok and impala, encouraged the elongation of the neck, as it enabled giraffes to reach food that competitors could not. This advantage is real, as giraffes can and do feed up to high, while even quite large competitors, such as kudu, can feed up to only about high. There is also research suggesting that browsing competition is intense at lower levels, and giraffes feed more efficiently (gaining more leaf biomass with each mouthful) high in the canopy. However, scientists disagree about just how much time giraffes spend feeding at levels beyond the reach of other browsers, and a 2010 study found that adult giraffes with longer necks actually suffered higher mortality rates under drought conditions than their shorter-necked counterparts. This study suggests that maintaining a longer neck requires more nutrients, which puts longer-necked giraffes at risk during a food shortage.

Another theory, the sexual selection hypothesis, proposes that long necks evolved as a secondary sexual characteristic, giving males an advantage in "necking" contests to establish dominance and obtain access to sexually receptive females. In support of this theory, some studies have stated that necks are longer and heavier for males than females of the same age, It has also been proposed that the neck serves to give the animal greater vigilance.

Legs, locomotion and posture

thumb|upright|left|alt=Photograph of giraffe's hind leg|Right hind leg of a Masai giraffe at the [[San Diego Zoo]]

The front legs tend to be longer than the hind legs, The hooves of large male giraffes reach in diameter. and can sustain for several kilometres. Giraffes would probably not be competent swimmers as their long legs would be highly cumbersome in the water, although they might be able to float. When swimming, the thorax would be weighed down by the front legs, making it difficult for the animal to move its neck and legs in harmony

Internal systems

thumb|right|alt=Sketch of the path of the recurrent laryngeal nerve in giraffe|Scheme of path of the recurrent laryngeal nerve in giraffe

In mammals, the left recurrent laryngeal nerve is longer than the right; in a giraffe, it is over longer. These nerves are longer in giraffes than in any other living animal; the left nerve is over long. Each nerve cell in this path begins in the brainstem and passes down the neck along the vagus nerve, then branches off into the recurrent laryngeal nerve which passes back up the neck to the larynx. Thus, these nerve cells have a length of nearly in the largest giraffes. Evaporative heat loss in the nasal passages keep the giraffe's brain cool.

thumb|left|[[Reticulated giraffe bending down to drink in Kenya. The circulatory system is adapted to deal with blood flow rushing down its neck.|alt=Photograph of a giraffe bending down to drink]]

A giraffe's circulatory system has several adaptations to compensate for its great height. Its and heart must generate approximately double the blood pressure required for a human to maintain blood flow to the brain. As such, the wall of the heart can be as thick as . The jugular veins contain several (most commonly seven) valves to prevent blood flowing back into the head from the inferior vena cava and right atrium while the head is lowered. Conversely, the blood vessels in the lower legs are under great pressure because of the weight of fluid pressing down on them. To solve this problem, the skin of the lower legs is thick and tight, preventing too much blood from pouring into them. Giraffes have a small, compact liver.

Behaviour and ecology

Habitat and feeding

Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and open woodlands. They prefer areas dominated by Acacieae, Commiphora, Combretum and Terminalia trees over Brachystegia which are more densely spaced. Giraffes browse on the twigs of trees, preferring those of the subfamily Acacieae and the genera Commiphora and Terminalia, which are important sources of calcium and protein to sustain the giraffe's growth rate. Traditionally, the composition of these groups had been described as open and ever-changing. For research purposes, a "group" has been defined as "a collection of individuals that are less than a kilometre apart and moving in the same general direction". More recent studies have found that giraffes have long-lasting social groups or cliques based on kinship, sex or other factors, and these groups regularly associate with other groups in larger communities or sub-communities within a fission–fusion society. Proximity to humans can disrupt social arrangements. Dispersal is male biased, and can include spatial and/or social dispersal. Adult female subpopulations are connected by males into super communities of around 300 animals.

The number of giraffes in a group can range from one up to 66 individuals. Male giraffes occasionally roam far from areas that they normally frequent. During courtship, males emit loud coughs. Females call their young by bellowing. Calves will emit bleats, mooing and mewing sounds. During nighttime, giraffes appear to hum to each other. There is some evidence that giraffes use Helmholtz resonance to create infrasound. They also communicate with body language. Dominant males display to other males with an erect posture; holding the chin and head up while walking stiffly and displaying their side. The less dominant show submissiveness by dropping the head and ears, lowering the chin and fleeing. Female giraffes in oestrus are dispersed over space and time, so reproductive adult males adopt a strategy of roaming among female groups to seek mating opportunities, with periodic hormone-induced rutting behaviour approximately every two weeks. Males prefer young adult females over juveniles and older adults. Once an oestrous female is detected, the male will attempt to court her. When courting, dominant males will keep subordinate ones at bay. its coat pattern providing camouflage. The ossicones, which have lain flat in the womb, raise up in a few days. Calves first ruminate at four to six months and stop nursing at six to eight months. Young may not reach independence until they are 14 months old. Males must wait until they are at least seven years old to gain the opportunity to mate. In one study, up to 94 percent of observed mounting incidents took place between males. The proportion of same-sex activities varied from 30 to 75 percent. Only one percent of same-sex mounting incidents occurred between females.

Mortality and health

thumb|alt=Photograph of a lioness with at an adult giraffe kill|[[Lioness seen with an adult Masai giraffe kill]]

Giraffes have high adult survival probability, and an unusually long lifespan compared to other ruminants, up to 38 years. Adult female survival is significantly correlated with the number of social associations. Because of their size, eyesight and powerful kicks, adult giraffes are mostly safe from predation, Calf survival varies according to the season of birth, with calves born during the dry season having higher survival rates.

The local, seasonal presence of large herds of migratory wildebeests and zebras reduces predation pressure on giraffe calves and increases their survival probability. In turn, it has been suggested that other ungulates may benefit from associating with giraffes, as their height allows them to spot predators from further away. Zebras were found to assess predation risk by watching giraffes and spend less time looking around when giraffes are present.

thumb|upright|left|Red-billed oxpeckers on a giraffe, Zambia

Some parasites feed on giraffes. They are often hosts for ticks, especially in the area around the genitals, which have thinner skin than other areas. Tick species that commonly feed on giraffes are those of genera Hyalomma, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus. Red-billed and yellow-billed oxpeckers clean giraffes of ticks and alert them to danger. Giraffes host numerous species of internal parasites and are susceptible to various diseases. They were victims of the (now eradicated) viral illness rinderpest.

Human relations

Cultural significance

With its lanky build and spotted coat, the giraffe has been a source of fascination throughout human history, and its image is widespread in culture. It has represented flexibility, far-sightedness, femininity, fragility, passivity, grace, beauty and the continent of Africa itself. The Kiffians were responsible for a life-size rock engraving of two giraffes, dated 8,000 years ago, that has been called the "world's largest rock art petroglyph". Judging from evidence including incised clay pots, archaeologists now believe that, in the ancient Kushite societies located in Nubia, or what is now northern Sudan, giraffes may have featured in popular religion and women's religion, though not in elite or royal religion, and may have also had a connection to beliefs about the sun. The Tugen people of modern Kenya used the giraffe to depict their god Mda. The Egyptians gave the giraffe its own hieroglyph; 'sr' in Old Egyptian and 'mmy' in later periods. The constellation of Camelopardalis, introduced in the 17th century, depicts a giraffe.

thumb|right|upright|alt=Photograph of a painting of a giraffe and a man holding its leash|Painting of a giraffe imported to China during the [[Ming dynasty, in which it was identified with the mythological Qilin]]

Captivity

The Egyptians were among the earliest people to keep giraffes in captivity and shipped them around the Mediterranean.

Individual captive giraffes were given celebrity status throughout history. In 1414, a giraffe from Malindi was taken to China by explorer Zheng He and placed in a Ming dynasty zoo. The animal was a source of fascination for the Chinese people, who associated it with the mythical Qilin. Zarafa, another famous giraffe, was brought from Egypt to Paris in the early 19th century as a gift for Charles&nbsp;X of France. A sensation, the giraffe was the subject of numerous memorabilia or "giraffanalia". The drink is said to cause hallucinations of giraffes, believed to be the giraffes' ghosts, by the Humr.

Conservation status

In 2016, giraffes were assessed as Vulnerable from a conservation perspective by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. The Masai and reticulated subspecies are endangered, and the Rothschild subspecies is near threatened. In 2025, the IUCN accepted four species of giraffe with seven subspecies.

thumb|right|alt=Photograph of an endangered West African giraffe|Endangered [[West African giraffe near Koure, Niger]]

The primary causes for giraffe population declines are habitat loss and direct killing for bushmeat markets. Giraffes have been extirpated from much of their historic range, including Eritrea, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal.

Protected areas like national parks provide important habitat and anti-poaching protection to giraffe populations. Private game reserves have contributed to the preservation of giraffe populations in eastern and southern Africa. and is protected by law, and unauthorised killing can result in imprisonment. The UN-backed Convention of Migratory Species selected giraffes for protection in 2017. In 2019, giraffes were listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means international trade including in parts/derivatives is regulated.

Translocations are sometimes used to augment or re-establish diminished or extirpated populations, but these activities are risky and difficult to undertake using the best practices of extensive pre- and post-translocation studies and ensuring a viable founding population. Aerial survey is the most common method of monitoring giraffe population trends in the vast roadless tracts of African landscapes, but aerial methods are known to undercount giraffes. Ground-based survey methods are more accurate and can be used in conjunction with aerial surveys to make accurate estimates of population sizes and trends.

See also

  • Fauna of Africa
  • Giraffe Centre
  • Giraffe Manor - hotel in Nairobi with giraffes

References

  • of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation