Giraffes are naturally the tallest animals on earth. A female giraffe can reach up to 14 feet tall while a male giraffe can reach up to 18 feet tall

From this information, it is clear that the male giraffe is usually taller than the female giraffe. Due to this height difference, there is no competition between the male and female giraffes. A female giraffe weighs 500 pounds while a male giraffe weighs about 3000 pounds. The neck of a giraffe is 6 feet long. This enables it to reach far-off places. It is normally aided by its long legs which are also 6 feet.

How Tall Giraffes Get Relative To Age

A giraffe can be very easy to spot due to its height. Just like other living animals, as giraffes keep on growing, their height goes on increasing. The young one of the giraffes is 6 feet tall. When the giraffe is fully developed and mature, it reaches a height ranging from 14 feet to 20 feet.

How Many Hearts Do Giraffes Have?

Just like human beings, giraffes also have one heart.

Although a giraffe has only one heart its heart has very unique features, unlike other animals. A giraffe’s heart has a length of 2 feet and its weight is 25 pounds. The giraffe’s heart can pump up to 16 gallons of blood every minute.

The circulatory system is properly structured to prevent the giraffe from fainting due to less blood in the brain. The vessels which take blood to the brain are stretchy which enables them to keep blood for a much longer time. The small red blood cells and capillaries are also able to take in blood at a much faster rate.

The heart of a giraffe is divided into two just like in other animals. It has the right ventricle part and the left ventricle. The right ventricle is responsible for pushing the blood to the lungs. The huge task of pumping blood to the brain is assigned to the left ventricle. Since the neck is very lengthy, actually six feet long, this creates a gravitational force which is against the forward movement of the blood. This further means that the heart has to acquire a very high pressure which is going to overpower the force of gravity. This great pressure is produced successfully with the help of the thick and muscular nature of the left ventricle. To sustain the whole body with adequate blood flow, the heart pumps at a rate of 40-90 beats per minute.

How Do Giraffes Sleep?

When giraffes are sleeping they can either be standing or at other times will opt to lie down. When the giraffe lies down, it normally has its head placed on its behind parts and its legs doubled over. This is made possible by its long neck.

Giraffes fall in the category of animals which spend very minimal time sleeping. On average they can spend about forty minutes of their time during the day sleeping. The giraffes need to be very alert in case any predator thinks of attacking them. This makes them detect even the slightest movement around them. Giraffes also spend a lot of time feeding. Due to their large body size, they must ensure that they get a lot of food which is going to sustain them. After the giraffes have eaten they then chew the cud as a process of their food digestion. This whole process takes such a long time that the giraffes barely have time to sleep.

At times you may find a giraffe sleeping while it is standing. When a giraffe lies down the whole procedure of standing becomes very long and it is usually a struggle. This may not be good especially when there is a predator nearby as it does not have any other defense mechanism.

The life of a young is different from that of an adult giraffe. Young giraffes spend most of their time sleeping. They require enough sleep for their development. The young giraffes sleep while they are lying down. It is rare to find a young giraffe sleeping while standing. Since the young giraffes normally have their mother around them with the other members of the group, they are given maximum protection by everyone. Therefore their sleep is very peaceful and they do not have to be alert now and then.

How Fast Do Giraffes Run?

Giraffes can run at a maximum speed of 60km/h. This is equivalent to 38mph.

Of all the animals on earth giraffes have the largest strides. This greatly works in its favor as it does not need to run very fast to be quick. Giraffes have a peculiar way of running which is not seen in the other animals. As they are running the giraffes first make a stride with both of their left legs and then make the other stride with both of their right legs.

The giraffes also use the galloping technique to increase their speed. Here the giraffe moves its front legs forward which tends to pull its heavy body. With this, the hind legs are moved forward to reach the front legs. The head and the neck are then moved back and forth making the front legs move forward and also counteract their heavy weight.

Since some of the predators like the lion and hyena can run faster than the giraffe, the long neck enables the giraffe to be able to see them even when they are far away. With this, the giraffe can begin to run immediately to escape the predator easily. When caught up by a predator and they are not prepared, the young giraffes suffer the most. Although they can run immediately after they are born, it is difficult to keep up with the pace of the mother. Their legs have not fully developed and had the strength to run at a high speed. The mother may at times act in its defence or at other times when it is very serious the young one may be left alone in the hands of the predator.