GREENSBORO, N.C. -- No, doubt about it, Giraffes are majestic animals! The entire nation is on baby giraffe watch as April the giraffe at the Animal Adventure Park in New York, NY is expecting to give birth at any moment.
Did you know Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months? However, there are other animals that are pregnant for even longer including the Elephant that remains pregnant for nearly two years.
Here are some things you might not know about Giraffes
- A giraffe’s 6-foot-long neck weighs about 600 pounds
- A giraffe could look into a second-story window without having to stand on its tiptoes
- Males grow up to 18 feet tall
- Females grow up to 14 feet tall
- The “Horns” are not really horns. However, the “horns” called ossicones are bony lumps covered with skin and hair
- The only other animals to have ossicones is the okapi
- Most giraffes have 2 ossicones but males could have up to 5
- You can tell male and female giraffes apart because males have larger “horns”
- The male “horns” usually have no hair on their horns due to fighting
- “Horns” or ossicones appear flat on newborns but pop up about one week after birth
- A giraffe's feet are the size of a dinner plate—12 inches across
- Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months
- At birth, the front hooves come out first followed by the snout
- Calves are 6 feet tall at birth
- Giraffes are the tallest land animals
You can visit the giraffes at the North Carolina Zoo. Just head to the Giraffe Deck. You’ll be able to get eye-to-eye with the long-legged giants. If you’re headed to the Zoo the Acacia Station Giraffe Deck is listed as View 4 on the park map. There are also three other free viewing areas to look at the giraffes. You can buy tickets for the deck at the Giraffe Deck.
Thanks to NC Zoo and San Diego Zoo for facts on Giraffes!
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