GIRAFFES

GLOSSARY

• LIFESTYLE
• DIET
• HABITAT
• SPECIES
• NATURAL PREDATORS
• TIME LINE OF EVOLUTION
• LIFE SPAN

life style
Giraffes live primarily in savanna area`s in the sub-sahara region of africa. their extreme height allows them to reach leaves and shoots located much higher than other animals can reach. in particular, they seek out acacia trees. their long tongues are helpful in eating because it helps pull leaves from trees.

diet
giraffes are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. their long neck allow them to reach leaves, seeds, fruits, buds, and branches high up in mimosa and acacia trees. they eat hundreds of pounds of leaves per week.

habitat
giraffes are native to africa, especially the sub-saharan regions. their distribution includes several parts of the continent but in every fragmented way. species and subspecies have similar habitats that include savannas, grasslands, and open forests. giraffes will move to where they need to find food.

natural predator`s
giraffes may be preyed by lions, hyenas, leopards, and african wild dogs, and some times humans. giraffes live in herds of related females ant their offspring, or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males, but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations.

species
the icun currently recognises only one species of giraffe and nine sub-species. in 2001, a two-species taxonomy was proposed. a 2007 study on the genetics of giraffes, suggested they were six species: the west african, rothschild`s, reticulated, masai, angolan, and south african giraffe.

timeline
20-25 million years ago
the first giraffes had short necks, they ate shrubs and short trees in the vast plains of africa. there were giraffes with short necks, medium necks, and larger necks then the average giraffes neck.

timeline
6-8 million years ago
the shorter than the average neck giraffes started to die off because they couldn`t get to the higher food on the trees and other animals started eating the berries and shrubs that were on short trees leaving no food for the giraffe.

timeline
1-2 million years ago
eventually giraffes necks started to get longer to keep up with there needs of food so they can get the food instead of other species and they can reach the food on the high trees.

defense
giraffes defend themselves against predators by kicking with either the fore or hind feet. their large and heavy hooves can break the bone of any predator. but this makes them more vulnerable when they are grazing.

lifespan
the average giraffe lives up to 20-30 years in the wild. but in captivity the can live slightly longer. the oldest giraffe on record is tamu he was a western giraffe an he lived up to 32 years.

are giraffes endangered
yes giraffes are on the red list for endangered species there are only 30 percent of what used to be in the 1900s
to get an estimate 100,000 are left on this planet.

in conclusion
giraffes are beautiful amazing creatures but they could soon be extinct due to natural predators and poachers. the giraffes non natural predators are people. so i hope poachers don`t make these beautiful creatures go extinct