1st, 2nd, and 5th hour Classes

Ms. Ferruzzi
ELA
April 14, 2015
The Magnificent Giraffe
Nibble, nibble, crunch, crunch, a beautiful giraffe devours green
leaves from the tops of the tallest trees in Africa. The giraffe gracefully
saunters over to a watering hole and awkwardly bends down to lap up the
cool water; always on the lookout for danger. Giraffes are one of the most
extraordinary and majestic animals seen in the wild. There are many
interesting facts about giraffes' unique physical characteristics, specialized
diet, family lives, eccentric behavior, and the beautiful habitat they live in
that is also inhabited with deadly predators that threaten their survival.
Giraffes have many exotic physical characteristics that make this
animal distinguishable; from its tiny head to its split hooved toes. Giraffes
are the tallest animals in the world; males can reach up to 17 feet and
females are about 14 feet tall! However, despite their height, giraffes only
have seven neck bones. Their legs are about six feet long. They have long
purple tongues that are about 21 inches long. Giraffes' tongues are very
rough and gritty, which helps them devour a variety of food. Their patch-like
coat is a mixture of tawny and white patches that are unique to each giraffe.
A typical male giraffe weighs about 2,600 pounds. Giraffes also have
excellent vision and hearing. There are two bony horns that stick out of the

tops of a giraffe's head, they are covered with hair and fur. However,
females tend to have smaller horns than males. Interestingly, giraffes have
nostrils that will open and close to keep out dust and sand! Giraffes have
fascinating physical characteristics that make them unique animals.
Giraffes are one of the various herbivores in Africa that have a broad
vegetarian diet. Giraffes' diets contain a variety of leaves, twigs, fruit,
seedpods, herbs, shrubs, bark and even vines. However, a giraffes diet is
made up of 85% leaves and only 1% grasses and herbs. Unfortunately,
giraffes will come into contact with stinging ants when devouring their
leaves, but because of their rough tongue they can separate the pesky ants
from the delicious leaves! Interestingly, adult giraffes eat up to 40 pounds of
leaves a day and can drink up to two gallons a water a day! However, if
necessary, giraffes can go about one week without water. In summary,
giraffes have a very diverse plant based diet that suits them very well.
It may come as a surprise, but giraffes depend on their extraordinary
families for survival in the wild. Giraffe babies are called calves, but female
giraffes are called cows and males are called bulls. When babies are born
they are about six feet tall. Giraffe babies also have an alarming birth
because they drop five feet to the ground when their mothers give birth!
Babies can stand up after about one hour after they are born. Female
giraffes and their young form small groups with other females and their
offspring, called nurseries. Calves will stay in the nursery for nine to ten
months. The typical female giraffe will give birth around five years old. Male

giraffes tend to live outside the nursery on their own. Giraffes clearly have
dynamic families that help them take care of each other.
Giraffes behavior may seem odd to others, but to them, it is perfectly
normal! When giraffes drink water they must spread their front legs and dip
their very long neck awkwardly into the watering hole. As they drink,
giraffes are always on the lookout for dangerous predators. This is why they
will pop their heads up every few minutes, constantly on the lookout. Female
giraffes do not typically fight, but will to defend their young. When male
giraffes fight, they swing their powerful necks to fight off their opponent,
however, giraffes rarely get hurt in these types of fights. If a giraffe is being
attacked by a predator, they will viciously kick their attacker with their
powerful hind legs. Giraffes many unique behaviors help to survive their
dangerous habitat.
It is important to understand giraffes habitat and predators to fully
understand the animal. Giraffes live in open woodlands in the savannahs of
Africa. These savannahs are found south of the Sahara Desert. However,
their habitats are slowly being reduced by humans, who are destroying their
precious homes. Their population has decreased by 40%! However, the
adult giraffe has only one animal predator, the lion. However, baby giraffes
have a few, including the crocodile, lion, cheetah, and hyena. Lions typically
do not attack giraffes alone because a giraffe can kill a lion with one deadly
kick. Lions will attack giraffes when they are alone or drinking from a
watering hole. One of the most deadly predators of a giraffe is humans.

Humans poach, or hunt, giraffes for their hides, tail hairs, and bones. African
tribes use their tail hair to make string for bows and jewelry, their bones for
jewelry and medicine, and their hides for clothes. In recent years, giraffes
have been hunted because it is believed that their bones and brains can be
used as medicine to cure diseases. Giraffes open habitat includes many
dangerous predators that threaten their survival.
Giraffes physical characteristics, diet, families, behaviors, and beautiful
habitat and predators make the regal and magnificent giraffe a very
interesting creature. Giraffes have very long necks and legs that make it the
tallest animal in the world. They search the African savannahs for pounds
and pounds of leaves a day from the tallest trees. Unfortunately, giraffes are
always on alert from the dangerous predators that threaten their survival.
Surprisingly, one of the most dangerous giraffe predators are humans! As
humans, we should make sure that giraffes are protected because a world
without giraffes would be a depressing one!