What is giraffes favorite food

To avoid this, giraffes get most of the moisture they need from the leaves they eat. If needed, they can go for weeks without an actual drink of water. If water is easily available, such as in a zoo setting without predators, giraffes will drink 10 gallons 38 liters a day. When a giraffe is standing upright, its heart has to work very hard to get enough blood circulating up the length of its neck to the brain.

As a result, a giraffe has very high blood pressure, about 2. So you many wonder how they avoid fainting from the blood-rush to the head when they bend over for a drink. When a giraffe bends down, the jugular vein in its neck actually locks up. This prevents the rush of blood to the head. When it straightens out its neck by lifting its head, the vein opens up again.

How cool is that? Giraffe care will vary from zoo to zoo, but the aim is to provide them with the same nutrients that they would get if they were eating in their natural environment. They also get hay, carrots, and special biscuits. This occurs within the first hour of its life. A baby giraffe is weaned between 9 and 12 months of age. In calves, esophageal grooves allow milk to bypass the first stomach compartment and enter straight into the second part.

At around 4 months they will start to eat solid food. Their stomach will undergo changes at this time to allow them to start ruminating. Did you learn something new? Do you have more questions about giraffes? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. I love learning about other cultures and tasting their food. Giraffes are more than able to consume a number of plants that have thorns, but what about cacti?

It turns out the Prickly pear is a member of the cactus family, Cactaceae. Giraffes are herbivores, which means they eat only plants. Giraffe are herbivorous and have been recorded to feed on more than species of plants with a staple diet of acacia leaves. Giraffe use their sense of smell to locate the leaves they want.

They ingest everything on the branch when eating, including insects, bark, and thorns. A giraffe can kick in any direction and in a manner of ways, and its kick can not only kill a lion, but has even been known to decapitate behead it. Can giraffes jump? Interestingly they can hardly jump at all.

The highest fence a giraffe has been recorded clearing was only 1 meter high. Scientists have identified nine subspecies of giraffe that live in different areas and are differentiated by their different patterns.

Color variations between the species depend on their habitat as well as their food source. Giraffes can range in color from almost white to almost black, and while the specific patterns vary by species, all have the characteristic splotches that resemble leaves or in the case of the reticulated giraffe, which has a dark coat, a web of white lines.

Like human fingerprints, the patterns are unique to each animal. While giraffes sometimes eat grasses, fruits and vegetables, they eat mostly leaves. The leaves of the acacia tree are a particular favorite. In the wild, the typical giraffe diet is almost exclusively leaves, and the animal eats up to 75 pounds of them a day. In captivity, giraffes are fed leaves, some fruits, hay and vegetables, as well as specially designed giraffe food, often in pellet form.

Since the males tend to be taller, they eat from the higher branches, leaving the lower ones for the females. Both in the wild and in captivity, giraffes show a preference for the leaves of the acacia tree. These trees have long thorns mixed in with the leaves that deter other animals, but giraffes are able to use their long tongues measuring 18 to 20 inches to maneuver around the thorns. Giraffes also have a built-in protection from their thorny meals: their thick, sticky saliva protects them from any thorns they may inadvertently swallow.

While acacia leaves are a staple in their diet, they also eat the flowers when they are in season. The flowers have more tannin, but also twice the protein. In the Serengeti, it has been noted that females tend to choose more herbs than males, with the female giraffe diet being richer in nutrients while the male giraffe diet is higher in fiber and lignin.

This difference may help explain how females can produce young even in the dry season when food is not as plentiful. Acacia leaves contain a good amount of water, so giraffes do not need to drink very often.