In this paper you will learn a multitude of facts about the giraffe. Such as it is the tallest of the terrrestrial animals and largest of the ruminants. The average male giraffe can grow up to 16-20 feet tall and weigh 2,600 lbs. While the female can grow to 15 feet tall and weigh 1800 lbs. The giraffe is a genus of the African even-toed ungulate mammals. Although it will contain specific facts not unlike the ones you just read, it will be more of an overview on the animal as a whole. There are 4 different species and subspecies of the Giraffe such as the southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), comprising two distinct subspecies, the Angolan giraffe (Angolensis) and the South African giraffe (Giraffa). The Masai giraffe (Tippelskirchi), which …show more content…
Ossicones are the giraffe's horns. Males have bigger ossicones because they use them to fight over mates, water, food and many other resources. Giraffe fighting is known as “necking” which involves them swinging their necks at each other in a show of strength. A male has bigger ossicones than a female, while both genders possess the horns, the horns of a male lack the tufts of fur that female horns bear. This is because the fur and skin wears off the male’s horns as they battle each other. You can actually tell the gender by looking at the ossicones. Giraffes ossicones start as a cartilaginous structure, but over time the cartilage is replaced by bone. This makes the ossicones much harder and tougher so it is easier to …show more content…
They are found in Acacia, Commiphora, Combretum and open Terminalia woodlands. Giraffes are herbivores which means they only eat plants. Giraffes prefer feeding off of twigs, shrubs, grass, fruit and leaves from those woodlands. They eat up to 65 pounds a day but they only need 15 pounds of food a day to survive. Scientists can only guess why giraffes eat so much, the best hypothesis is because they eat all day. During December through April (wet season) food is more abundant and giraffes are more active and they spread out from each other. During May through November (dry season) they are less active and they like to be in herds, they stay around evergreen trees and bushes. Typically, giraffes roam with about half a dozen or less other giraffes. When giraffes eat, they use their lower incisors (front teeth) to comb the leaves off of the branches to eat. When giraffes eat, they first chew their food then they swallow it for processing inside the stomach. But they are not finished, then they bring the half-digested cud back to the mouth for more chewing. They do this several times before they keep it in their stomach. Giraffes eat less food than the typical grazing animal because they reach the healthiest leaves in the highest part of the tree, this gives them more concentrated nutrients. A giraffe can also survive without water or a few days, when water is available they drink at three day intervals.
Lerner, E. and Lerner, B., 2008. Giraffes and okapi. The Gale Encyclopedia of Science 4
They have wide chests and their arms are longer than their legs. Chimpanzees’ hands have four long fingers plus an opposable thumb. Their feet have five toes which includes an opposable big toe. Chimpanzees’ can grasp things with both their hands and their feet. Male chimpanzees are larger than female chimpanzees and are slightly sexually dimorphic. Chimpanzees are quadrupeds that typically walk using the soles of feet and the knuckles of their hands. They sometimes walk upright only when they need to use their arms to carry things but this is a rare occurrence. Chimps are also good at brachiating and climbing trees which is where they spend most of their time even when they sleep. Their dental formula is 2.1.2.3. Chimpanzees’ have y5/x4 molars, making them frugivores, and a diastema to fit their upper canines. Their diet includes fruit, leaves, flowers, seeds, smaller mammals, birds, insects, and grubs. When chimps aren’t resting, they can be very active. I enjoyed watching the Chimpanzees’ swing on the ropes and climb up and down the trees. Chimpanzees are
Humans have almost nothing in common with any surviving mammals of the savanna. Most mammals of hot, dry climates do not rely heavily on water for survival. They have a high tolerance to heat, and their body temperatures can fluctuate more than 6oC between day and night. They can bear a dehydration of 20%, whereas 10% or more would be fatal to humans. What little they do drink or consume naturally through food, is conserved because they do not sweat. Hair and fur keeps the sun off their direct skin, while humans would have to sweat 10-15 liters of water to physically cool down. (Verhaegen)
the food intake rate of the forager decreases with the time spent in the foraging patch (Charnov 1974). Fig. 2: The Fig. 2: The Fig. 3: The Fig.
For the lowland adult male gorilla measure up about 66.9 in. tall and weigh an average of 374 pounds, while adult female gorillas measure up about 59.1 in. height and her weigh is no more than 160 pounds. On the other hand, adult male mountain gorillas may weigh up to 484 pounds, and adult females weigh about 215 pounds. The adult male bonobos measure up to 4 feet tall and weigh an average of 85 pounds, while adult female bonobos measure up over 3 feet tall and weigh an average of 68 pounds. The adult male chimpanzees measure up to approximately 4 feet high, and weigh between 90 and 120 pounds, while the female chimpanzees weigh between 60 and 110 pounds. The adult male orangutan measure up to typically 4 ft. 6 in. tall and weigh around 165 pound, while the adult female orangutan measure up to 3 ft. 9 in. and weigh around 82 pounds. Male orangutans are approximately twice the size of the females. It is believed that the bigger size of males is because of the strong competition among males for females. The 12 species of gibbons are classified as lesser apes. They are relatively smaller, slender, and more agile than other apes. They exhibit many characteristics of primates, including flat faces, enlarged brain sizes, grasping hands and feet, arms longer than legs, no tails, and broad chests. Male gibbons are just under 3 ft. in length and weigh about 15 pounds. Furthermore, the evolution of Homo erectus showed more human examination
Short stories and fables give essential insight on life and convey a deeper understanding of the basic fundamental and intellectual lessons of life. Over the ages many stories and fables have been told from generation to generation to help people understand and grow intellectually/mentally to live a life which is one with yourself and everyone in relation to you. One such story which is deep in its morals is The Giraffe by Mauro Senesi. This story portrays a strong message, and when I read this book I was deeply affected emotionally as well as intellectually. This story helped me understand how accepting the most subtle change to the most significant change is important, it helped me understand
The diet of the koala is one aspect that shows that they have adapted to their environment. The main diet of the koala is eucalyptus
According to Gron (2007) the fur of the macaque is brown in colour but varies in shade from a light grey or yellow brown to completely brown. They are most commonly recognised for their pinkish red face. The macaques are predominantly quadrupedal, meaning they use all four limbs to travel across land. The males spend the majority of their time on the ground while the female takes shelter in the trees. Conservation International (2014) describes a degree of sexual dimorphism between males and females, the male measures between 537-607mm weighing between 11.0-18.0kg. The female is shorter measuring between 472-601mm and also lighter weighing 8.3-18.0kg. An image of a macaque is included in appendix 1.
The text “The Domesticity of Giraffes” is a poem written by Judith Beveridge. It is based upon the concept of caging animals, specifically giraffes, and the negative effects of keeping animals in captivity.
Finley, T. G., Sikes, R. S., Parsons, J. L., Rude, B. J., Bissell, H. A. and Ouellette, J. R. (2011), Energy digestibility of giant pandas on bamboo-only and on supplemented diets. Zoo Biology, 30: 121–133.
I may be a boring, normal, typical teenage girl, but I have some interesting facts about myself. To begin, I have an obsession with gifs. I use them all of the time now. I don’t even text people anymore, I just send Gifs. It actually really fun. A “gif” stands for Graphics Interchange Format, Gifs are images compressed to reduce transfer time. I’m pretty sure it annoys everyone but, I don’t really care because I love them. Another interesting fact about myself is that i’ve had several pets. I’ve had four dogs, three cats, and four fish. My first animal was an immense Alaskan Malamute by the name of Tanika. She was a very lovable dog and I enjoyed riding her around the house and my favorite thing was when she pulled me on a sled. Tanika had
The baboon is the most widespread primate in Africa. Well-known for their remarkable ability to adapt, baboons can be found in a variety of habitats, ranging from semi-desert to rainforest, and from coastal areas to mountains. Their adaptability also extends to their feeding habits — baboons will eat just about anything. The baboon's diet includes a wide variety of plants, of which they eat every part: leaves, fruit, buds, flowers, roots, bulbs, tubers, seeds, shoots, bark and even sap. As for meat, these resourceful monkeys will eat insects, shellfish, small reptiles and amphibians, rodents, birds, fish, eggs and even young antelope or livestock.
Giraffes are herbivorous creatures that usually inhabit environments such as grasslands, Savannas and woodlands that are less dense. Some are also found in desert environments like the Angolan giraffe. Giraffes prefer a few number of trees to feed from, an example of their most prefer trees is the genera Acacia, Commiphora and Terminallia. Other food sources are fruits and shrubs that giraffes can find while searching for food. A giraffe can eat up to 34 kilograms of food daily. Although it’s an herbivorous creature, giraffes have been seen licking dried meat off bones if passing by a carcass.
Both sexes have two or four short, blunt, skin-covered horns. The coat has chestnut brown blotches against a brown background, markings that blend with the many different trees. As a giraffe ages, its color grows a darker brown. Each animal has a unique set of markings. Giraffes have keen sense of smell, seeing, and fantastic eyesight. A giraffe’s lifespan is up to twenty-six years in the wild and thirty-six years in captivity. Giraffes live on dry savannas and open woodland. They range south in the Sahara and in large numbers only in East Africa. Giraffes are herbivores, they eat mainly on leaves from acacia, mimosa, and wild apricot trees.