#1262 ... Three in a Row

The giraffes at the Wellington Zoo .. heading the other way. Graceful, gentle, delightful animals. Photo courtesy of Josh Blandford... THX

So what is interesting about these animals ...

• Each giraffe has a unique spot pattern. 
• Giraffes can spend up to 20 hours a day feeding and can eat up to 66kg of food daily.
• Giraffes drink water if it is available but can go weeks without it; they rely on the morning dew and the water content of their food.
• Giraffe can run at speeds up to 50kph but only for short bursts at a time.
• Females give birth to a single baby after a 15 month pregnancy.  The baby is 1.8m tall when it is born, and is born feet first.  Calves can stand within an hour of birth.
• Although generally quiet giraffes have been heard to grunt, snort and bleat.
• Giraffes sleep the least of any mammal – they only sleep for between 10 minutes and two hours a day. 
• They have only seven vertebrae in their neck, the same number as humans.
• They have special two way valves in their veins so they can bend over without getting a head rush. A giraffe’s heart is as big as a basketball and weighs around 12kg.
• A giraffe’s horns are not really horns at all – they are bony masses covered with skin and tufts of hair called ossicones.
• Giraffes have lived at Wellington Zoo since 1988.