Giraffidae - giraffes, okapis

Giraffes and okapis are both found in sub-Saharan Africa in wooded savannas and open woodlands. The giraffe is the tallest land mammal. Male giraffes can be 16-18 feet tall and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. Females are usually a few feet shorter than the male.

The giraffe's front legs are slightly longer than its back legs. The longer front legs help the giraffe support its 6-foot long neck! The giraffe's neck has seven vertebrae, just like other mammals, but its vertebrae are very long! Both male and female giraffes are born with horns.

The giraffe is an herbivore, it browses for leaves and shoots high in the trees and uses its long, black, prehensile tongue to pull leaves into its mouth. The roof of its mouth has grooves on it that help strip the leaves from their branches! It eats up to 140 pound of food a day. It is especially fond of the leaves of the acacia tree.

The leaves of the acacia tree contain a lot of water! The extra water helps the giraffe go for long periods of time without drinking water. This helps the giraffe survive! In order to drink water the giraffe has to spread its legs and bend its long neck down to the water! When it is drinking, it is difficult to spot approaching prey and hard to run away if prey is spotted!

Giraffes live in herds of 10-20 individuals, although some herds can have as many as 100 giraffes. The giraffe is tan with dark brown markings. The giraffe breeds throughout the year. The male mates with more than one female. The female gives birth to a single calf 14-15 months after mating. The calf stays close to its mother for a few weeks and then joins a crèche of other young giraffes. The calf will nurse for up to a year.

There are nine sub-species of giraffe that are identified by the pattern of the dark brown markings and by where they are found in Africa. For example, the Masai giraffe of Kenya has a pattern that looks like oak leaves.

The okapi is found in rainforests in the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa. It was not discovered by scientists until 1900. It is 5 to 6.5 feet tall and has black-and-white striped legs and hindquarters, a dark brown body, large ears, and a long tail. The stripes on the okapi's legs help camouflage it in the rainforest.

Like the giraffe, it has a long, black, prehensile tongue that it uses to strip leaves and buds off trees and shrubs. Its front legs are longer than its rear legs, just like the giraffe.

The female okapi gives birth to a single calf. She hides the calf in the underbrush of the rainforest and for the first two months, she only visits her calf to feed it. By staying away from the calf, except for when she feeds it, the mother protects the calf from being discovered by predators. When the calf is two months old, it joins it mother and browses for food.