Adult giraffe

As we face the ongoing challenges of COVID, our team of dedicated specialists continue to care for countless animals and plants that depend on us each and every day. Your continued support is critical to the wildlife in our care and vital to endangered species worldwide. Hello up there! Why do so many people look up to giraffes—besides the obvious reason? Giraffes are the tallest land animals.

Just how tall is a giraffe and how do they drink? Learn all about these impressively tall mammals, including key species facts, their diet and best places to see them in their natural habitat in our expert giraffe guide. By Giraffe Conservation Foundation. Some other even-toed ungulates include, hippopotamuses, deer, goats, camels, cattle, antelopes and sheep.

My favorite animal to watch while we were on safari was the giraffe. Seemingly ungainly and often the butt of bad jokes, I found them to be majestic and elegant creatures to watch. They are extremely curious and sure to steal your heart with their long necks, beautiful patchwork coat and lovable nature. Despite that they are one of the most recognizable animals in the animal kingdom, there are a lot of unknown facts about giraffes.

The giraffe Giraffa is an African artiodactyl mammal , the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant. It is traditionally considered to be one species , Giraffa camelopardalis , with nine subspecies. However, the existence of up to eight extant giraffe species has been described, based upon research into the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA , as well as morphological measurements of Giraffa.