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Hoofed mammals
Southern giraffes
Southern giraffes · Giraffa giraffa
Giraffes with unique spot patterns and endless necks tower majestically over the African savannah. Discover them up close.
Fact file
- Size
- Up to 5.80 metres tall and weighing up to 1,600 kilograms
- Males and females
- Males generally heavier, bulls’ horns thicker and bald on top
- Sounds
- Grunting, occasionally bleating or very deep calls
- Diet
- Prefers leaves and shoots, especially from acacia trees
- Offspring
- After a gestation period of around 15 months usually a single calf is born
How to identify Southern giraffes
Giraffes are the tallest land animals on earth, reaching up to 5.80 metres. Their sandy-coloured coat is covered with a unique, net-like pattern of spots that varies in intensity and shape depending on the subspecies. The patterns are as individual as a fingerprint and help you tell one animal from another.
Striking features are the extremely long legs and the even longer neck, which is supported by seven cervical vertebrae, just like in humans. Short, fur-covered horns – the so-called ossicones – adorn the head. The flexible, dark, prehensile tail ends in a tuft and helps to drive away insects.
More in the app
With Wildful Stories+ you also get in the app:
- general viewing tips
- 55 places where you can see Southern giraffes
Where Southern giraffes live
Namibia
- Etosha Nationalpark
- Brandberg
- Buffalo Core Area
- Bwabwata Nationalpark
- Caprivi-Streifen
- Damaraland
- Dolomite & Olifantsrus
- Erongo Gebirge
- Halali
- Hoanib
- Kaokoland
- Kwando Core Area
- Mahango Core Area
- Mudumu Nationalpark
- Namib-Naukluft Nationalpark
- NamibRand Nature Reserve
- Namutoni
- Nkasa Rupara National Park
- Okaukuejo
- Palmwag
- Sossusvlei
- Twyfelfontein
- Waterberg Plateau
South Africa
Discover Southern giraffes on your trip.
The app shows you where and when to see wildlife along your route.
