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Spectacularly tall, the giraffe (Giraffa) has a very long neck with a short, upstanding mane, and high shoulders that slope steeply to the hindquarters. The legs are also long. The giraffe’s neck is made up of the same number of neck bones (vertebrae) as most mammals, including humans, but they are much larger and linked by ball and socket joints for improved flexibility. The specific name of the giraffe comes from the Latin ‘camelopardalis’, meaning ‘camel marked like a leopard’, owing to their buff background with brown blotches, which helps to camouflage them in the dappled light and shade patterns created by the trees they feed on.
Species[]
- Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa reticulata)
- Masai Giraffe (Giraffa tippleskirchi)
- Rothschild's Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis)
- Southern Giraffe (Giraffa giraffa)
- Northern Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
Gallery[]
Griff the Reticulated Giraffe (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson)
Morton the Reticulated Giraffe (Jeff Daniels)
Moriah the Masai Giraffe (Nalee Rae)
Tarzan II (2005)
Reticulated Giraffe in Kenya
