Definition: giraffe
A giraffe is a mammal with a very long neck, long legs, and hooves. Giraffes have short horns
covered with fur. They live in Africa and eat the tops of trees. Male giraffes can be up to eighteen feet tall.
They are the tallest animal that lives on land.
Fun Facts
1. The Tallest Animals on Earth: Giraffes are the tallest land animals in the entire world! An adult male can easily grow up to 18 feet tall, which means they are taller than two average-sized adult humans standing stacked on top of each other.
2. Super Long Blue-Black Tongues: A giraffe's tongue can grow up to 20 inches long! It is even colored a dark blue-black, which acts like a built-in sunshade to keep their tongues from getting sunburned while reaching for leaves all day.
3. Built-In Thorn Protection: Giraffes love to munch on tasty acacia tree leaves, which are covered in sharp, dangerous thorns. To protect themselves, they have a tough, thick layer of skin inside their mouths and extra-thick saliva to safely handle the pointy prickles!
4. Barely Any Sleep Needed: Because they are big targets for hungry lions out in the wild, giraffes don't have time to sleep deeply. They only need about 30 minutes to 4 hours of sleep a day, and they often take quick power naps while standing completely upright!
5. Surprise Neck Bones: You might think a neck that long needs dozens of bones, but a giraffe actually has the exact same number of neck vertebrae as a human—just seven! Each individual bone is just massively long.
6. Powerful Kick Defenders: Giraffes look gentle and graceful, but they pack a serious punch! Their long legs and heavy hooves are strong enough to defend themselves against predators like lions with a powerful kick.
7. Super High Blood Pressure: Because their heads are so far up in the air, giraffes need an extra-large, super-strong heart—weighing around 25 pounds—to pump blood all the way up that long neck against gravity!