Giraffe

Learn about Gideon the Giraffe!

FUN GIRAFFE FACTS

Live in: Africa, most live in East Africa, in grasslands.  Grasslands have lots of short grasses and tall trees but these trees are spread out over mostly dry dusty land.

Eat: They are Herbivores, which means they only eat plants.  Humans that only eat plants are called Vegetarians. They eat 140 lbs/day and spend up to 20 hours forging for food.  

Giraffes eat leaves which their long necks help them reach.  Their favorite leaves are from the Acacia tree.

Fun Fact: Tallest land mammal in the world.  Necks are 6ft tall!  How tall are you? 

Misconception: Do Giraffes have 2 hearts? Nope.  Even though they have very long necks, they only have one heart to pump all the blood up to their heads. 

Interesting Fact: They can run as fast as 35 MPH over short distances.  How fast can you run? The fastest recorded human ran 23mph for 100 meters but most humans run about 8 mph.  If we had tall legs like a giraffe I bet you could run fast like a Giraffe. They only sleep 2 hours per night.