By Lynn Brunelle

Wildlife and Wild Places STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION As you read, think about the body parts that help a giraffe survive in its environment.

What we thought we knew about giraffes doesn’t measure up. There's more than one species! By Lynn Brunelle

2 3 Like cows, cows, Like Nostrils close close Nostrils Long eyelashes and Long eyelashes Tummy Time Tummy a giraffe has four stomachs. stomachs. has four a giraffe eat as much It can (75 pounds) 34 kilograms day. every greens of leafy tightly so thorns and branches so thorns and branches tightly in. poke won’t Nose Plugs A giraffe's mouth has to be tough be tough mouth has to A giraffe's Goggles Safety thick eyelids help protect a giraffe's a giraffe's help protect thick eyelids many sharp thorns on are There eyes. browse. on which they trees, the acacia A giraffe’s tongue is 50 centimeters is 50 centimeters tongue A giraffe’s Spit Take to hold up to the thorns on the leaves they eat. they the thorns on leaves hold up to to that with a thick saliva is coated Its tongue harmful bacteria. against protects A giraffe’s spots act as camouflage. spots act as camouflage. A giraffe’s The skin on a Long Reach (20 inches) long. It helps the giraffe reach the reach It helps the giraffe (20 inches) long. of trees. at the tops leaves juiciest A giraffe's hoof can be the hoof can A giraffe's They blend into the dappled sunlight and shadows sunlight and shadows the dappled into blend They the have giraffes and plants. No two of trees of spots. same pattern Spot On A giraffe’s heart can weigh 11 kilograms 11 kilograms weigh heart can A giraffe’s A giraffe moves both its right moves A giraffe Bigfoot size of a dinner plate. size of a dinner plate. Support Hose giraffe’s legs is thick and strong. is thick and strong. legs giraffe’s a support The tight skin acts like back up from blood sock, forcing the heart. to the feet A giraffe’s front legs are longer longer are legs front A giraffe’s Heavy Heart (25 pounds). Each pulse pushes 75 liters (almost 20 gallons) 20 gallons) (almost (25 pounds). Each pulse pushes 75 liters its body. around of blood front and rear legs together. Then it moves Then it moves together. legs and rear front A giraffe together. legs and rear front its left than the times faster three run almost can human. fastest On the Move than its back legs. Its legs are strong. One strong. are Its legs than its back legs. jaw. snap a lion’s kick can Kicking It A giraffe’s A giraffe’s Like a human, Like long neck and narrow head neck and narrow long to trees high into help it reach eat. and buds to find leaves High-End Dining Giraffe Basics Giraffe find the food to well-adapted are Giraffes been have they Yet survive. need to they than any animal in the world. less studied at these a look changing. Here’s That’s giants: gentle a giraffe has seven neck bones. A giraffe's neck bones. A giraffe's has seven a giraffe bigger, though. One neck a lot bones are 25 centimeters up to measure bone can (10 inches) long. Super-size Neck Bones All About the Tall the All About

4 National Geographic Explorer Pathfinder 5 Under the Radar reticulated Spot the Difference They tower above the grasslands and giraffe How can you spot the difference between woodlands of Africa. They stand out in giraffe species? Look at their spots. The zoos around the world. They appear in Masai giraffe has spots that are dark brown ancient rock carvings in Africa. They show and leaf-shaped. The patches are jagged up in toy stores and on clothing. Everyone southern and surrounded by a creamy color. Their knows a giraffe when they see one. But giraffe pattern does not cover all of their legs. They scientists weren't really taking a close look like they’re wearing socks. look—until now. The reticulated giraffe has large, Scientifically, giraffes didn’t seem that orangey-brown spots. Thin streaks of interesting. They didn’t seem to form close creamy white surround the spots. The bonds, as elephants do. They didn’t seem pattern goes all the way down the legs. Reticulated to be social, like gorillas. They didn’t seem means The spots of the southern and northern to do more than quietly browse. “Since arranged giraffes look similar. They are a chestnut they were a common sight in the wild, or marked brown surrounded by paler tan. The like a net no one imagined there was an issue with or network. southern giraffe’s patches are a little more population numbers,” says Steph Fennessy. jagged. The northern giraffe has no spots She’s the co-founder of the Giraffe on its legs. Range of Conservation Foundation in Namibia, giraffes by Africa. Steph and her husband, Julian, focus species AFRICA on the conservation of giraffes in the wild. Masai northern Masai Northern giraffe giraffes Reticulated Branching Out Long ago, giraffes may have belonged to Southern one species. Over time, groups of giraffes SOURCE: Giraffe Conservation Foundation spread out over Africa and lost contact with Not All the Same each other. Scientists noticed there were different Each group adapted to their new groups of giraffes living in different parts environments. They slowly changed. They of Africa. They observed nine populations. became four distinct species. Today they are Scientists thought they all belonged to the as different from each other as a polar bear same species. is from a brown bear. Then the Fennessys did more research. The northern giraffe species lives in They gathered tissue samples from the East and central Africa. The southern major groups of giraffes. A scientist, Axel giraffe lives in southern Africa. The Janke, compared the samples under a reticulated giraffe lives in East Africa. The microscope. He saw that there was not just Masai giraffe is found in southern Kenya, one species of giraffe but four! Tanzania, and Zambia.

6 National Geographic Explorer Pathfinder 7 High Pressure Giraffes must Giraffes need a lot of room to roam and stoop to drink. browse. As human populations expand, giraffes’ habitats start to shrink. People cut down trees. Then there is less food for giraffes. Giraffes are also a target. Poachers kill A giraffe's long, purple tongue helps it snag leaves them for their spotted coats and for meat. in hard-to-reach places. They are also killed for their tails, which are valued in some African cultures. Giraffes are already extinct in at least seven countries in Africa. Across Africa, there are fewer than 100,000 giraffes Numbers Game Bad News, Good News Small Science, Big Difference left. That’s not a lot for four species. So, Axel Janke believes we must take a closer The bad news is that each of these species Giraffes look so similar. It took looking there’s much concern among animal look at giraffes. “We need to understand is in trouble. According to Julian Fennessy, through a microscope to really understand conservationists. giraffes better to conserve them,” he says. giraffes are among the most endangered their differences. Time is running out to do so, though. large mammals in the world. But until This highlights the importance of Giraffes have fur-covered The northern and reticulated giraffe species scientists knew there were four species technology in understanding nature. As horns called ossicones. are the hardest hit. Poaching, habitat loss, instead of one, they didn't realize the threat. Janke says, “Only with scientific knowledge and disease have reduced their numbers. The good news is that the world is now can we protect animals.” There are fewer than 5,200 northern aware of the urgent need to protect giraffes. giraffes left in the wild. And fewer than How they are counted will change their 8,700 reticulated giraffes. conservation status.

A group of giraffes is called a tower. WORDWISE conservationist: a person who works to protect animals and plants and promotes the careful use of natural resources habitat: the place where a plant or an animal lives species: a group of animals or plants that is similar and can produce young animals or plants

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