Giraffe

The tallest animal in the world

The giraffe is the tallest animal in the world — as tall as a two-storey house! Its neck is 2 metres long, but it has only 7 bones in it, just like ours. A giraffe's tongue is blue-purple and 50 cm long — it uses it to pull leaves off thorny trees. A giraffe sleeps only 30 minutes a day!

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is a ruminant of the African savanna up to 5.5 m tall. Despite its long neck, it has just 7 neck vertebrae (each 25 cm long). To pump blood to its brain its heart is huge — 11 kg, with blood pressure twice a human's; special valves in its blood vessels stop it fainting when it lowers its head. Each giraffe's spot pattern is unique, like a fingerprint. It feeds mainly on acacia leaves; its 50 cm tongue is protected against thorns. Numbers have fallen 40% since the 1980s (about 117,000).

Fun facts

• A baby giraffe drops 2 metres to the ground when it's born — and walks within an hour!
• A giraffe's tongue is blue-purple so it doesn't get sunburnt.
• Giraffes sleep standing up, and 30 minutes a day is enough.
• A giraffe's leg is 1.8 m — taller than an adult human. One kick can kill a lion.