GIRAFFE

Amazing Facts About the Giraffe

Giraffes are the tallest mammal in the world. Their long legs and necks help them to eat
leaves at the top of tall trees that other animals cannot reach. They have long tongues,
and no teeth at the front of their top jaw, which helps them to rip leaves from branches.
Male giraffes use their necks for fighting, swinging them from side to side to headbutt
their opponent.

What do giraffes look like?

The long legs and necks of giraffes make them tallest of all the mammals; at around six
foot, the legs alone are taller than many humans. They have a distinct spotted coat, with
no two giraffes having the exact same pattern. This means that giraffes can be
individually identified from their coats, a feature that is often used in the study of wild
giraffe populations.

How tall can giraffes grow?

On average, giraffes are between 16 and 20 ft (4.8–6 m) tall.

How long is a giraffe’s neck?

Giraffes have long necks that can be over six foot (>1.8 m) in [Link] reason for the
long neck is debated amongst scientists, but it is useful for reaching food at the top of
tall trees. The added height is good for spotting approaching predators, and males use
their long necks to compete with other males, a fight known as necking. Male giraffes
swing their long necks and repeatedly head butt the others body. Males with longer and
stronger necks tend to win these fights, and often get the female. It is thought therefore,
that longer necks may also help when attracting females.

Where do giraffes live?

Giraffes inhabit the open plains, grasslands, and savannas of Africa. They are most
common in southern and eastern Africa, but some smaller more isolated populations
live in western and central [Link]

What do giraffes eat?

Do giraffes have teeth?

Yes! Giraffes have 32 teeth, the same number as humans. However, their mouths look
very different to ours. Teeth are located at the front of the bottom jaw, but only at the
back of the top jaw. Instead of teeth they have a lump of tissue known as a hard plate,
or dental pad, at the top of their mouths, which helps them to grip the leaves.

How long is a giraffe’s tongue?

Giraffe tongues are long, reaching around 20–21 in (50–53 cm) in length. Giraffe
tongues and lips are tough and specially adapted to allow giraffes to forage on trees
that other animals would avoid, such as acacias, which are very thorny.

What colour is a giraffe’s tongue?

Giraffe tongues are dark bluish in colour, which is thought to be a form of sun
protection.

How do giraffes give birth?

Giraffes are polygamous, so a few males with mate with one female. Females tend to
give birth to a single calf around 400–460 days after mating; females give birth whilst
standing up. Baby Giraffes can stand within half an hour and after only 10 hours can run
alongside their family. Young giraffes hang out in nursery groups until they are around 5
months old, resting and playing together while their mothers forage in the distance; one
female will tend to stay and look after the young. Males are not involved in the raising of
young.

How much do giraffes sleep?

Giraffes have one of the shortest sleep requirements of any mammal, and will only
sleep for around four hours a day. They sleep either laying down with their necks resting
on their bodies, or standing up. Sleep occurs in short intervals, sometimes less than a
minute.
Lions are the only cats that live in groups, which are called prides. Prides are family
units that may include up to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young. All of
a pride's lionesses are related, and female cubs typically stay with the group as they
age. Young males eventually leave and establish their own prides by taking over a
group headed by another male.
LION

Lion Prides and Hunting

Only male lions boast manes, the impressive fringe of long hair that encircles their
heads. Males defend the pride's territory, which may include some 100 square miles of
grasslands, scrub, or open woodlands. These intimidating animals mark the area with
urine, roar menacingly to warn intruders, and chase off animals that encroach on their
turf.

Female lions are the pride's primary hunters. They often work together to prey upon
antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, and other large animals of the open grasslands. Many of
these animals are faster than lions, so teamwork pays off.

After the hunt, the group effort often degenerates to squabbling over the sharing of the
kill, with cubs at the bottom of the pecking order. Young lions do not help to hunt until
they are about a year old. Lions will hunt alone if the opportunity presents itself, and
they also steal kills from hyenas or wild dogs.

Conservation

Lions have been celebrated throughout history for their courage and strength. They
once roamed most of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe. Today they are found only in
parts of sub-Saharan Africa, except for one very small population of Asian lions that
survives in India's Gir Forest
ELEPHANT

An adult African elephant's trunk is about seven feet (two meters) long! It's actually an
elongated nose and upper lip. Like most noses, trunks are for smelling.

When an elephant drinks, it sucks as much as 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water into its trunk
at a time. Then it curls its trunk under, sticks the tip of its trunk into its mouth, and blows.
Out comes the water, right down the elephant's throat.

Since African elephants live where the sun is usually blazing hot, they use their trunks
to help them keep cool. First they squirt a trunkful of cool water over their bodies. Then
they often follow that with a sprinkling of dust to create a protective layer of dirt on their
skin. Elephants pick up and spray dust the same way they do water—with their trunks.

Elephants also use their trunks as snorkels when they wade in deep water. An
elephant's trunk is controlled by many muscles. Two fingerlike parts on the tip of the
trunk allow the elephant to perform delicate maneuvers such as picking a berry from the
ground or plucking a single leaf off a tree. Elephants can also use its trunk to grasp an
entire tree branch and pull it down to its mouth and to yank up clumps of grasses and
shove the greenery into their mouths.

When an elephant gets a whiff of something interesting, it sniffs the air with its trunk
raised up like a submarine periscope. If threatened, an elephant will also use its trunk to
make loud trumpeting noises as a warning.

Elephants are social creatures. They sometimes hug by wrapping their trunks together
in displays of greeting and affection. Elephants also use their trunks to help lift or nudge
an elephant calf over an obstacle, to rescue a fellow elephant stuck in mud, or to gently
raise a newborn elephant to its feet. And just as a human baby sucks its thumb, an
elephant calf often sucks its trunk for comfort. One elephant can eat 300 pounds (136
kilograms) of food in one day.

People hunt elephants mainly for their ivory tusks. Adult females and young travel in
herds, while adult males generally travel alone or in groups of their own
TIGER

Easily recognized by its coat of reddish-orange with dark stripes, the tiger is the largest
wild cat in the world. The big cat's tail is three feet long. On average the big cat weighs
450 pounds, about the same as eight ten-year-old kids. It stands three feet tall with
teeth four inches long and claws as long as house keys.

A female tiger gives birth to a litter of three or four cubs, who she will care for until they
are a year-and-a-half old. These cubs quadruple in size during their first month!

The powerful predator generally hunts alone, able to bring down prey such as deer and
antelope. Tigers wait until dark to hunt. The tiger sprints to an unsuspecting animal,
usually pulling it off its feet with its teeth and claws. If the prey animal is large, the tiger
bites its throat to kill it; smaller prey is usually killed when the tiger breaks its neck.
Tigers have been known to eat up to 60 pounds of meat in one night, but more often
they consume about 12 pounds during a meal. It may take days for a tiger to finish
eating its kill. The cat eats until it's full, and then covers the carcass with leaves and dirt.
The tiger comes back to feed some more.

Tigers live far apart from each other. A tiger knows if it is in another tiger’s territory
based on the trees around him. Each tiger marks the trees in its area with urine and
special scratches.

Unlike most members of the cat family, tigers seem to enjoy water and swim well.

Some tigers live where it gets very cold—in India and parts of southeast Asia. The
whole species is endangered throughout its range.
Tigers have been overhunted for their fur as well as for other body parts that many
people use in traditional medicines. Tigers' habitat has also dwindled seriously as
humans have developed land for uses such as farming and logging. However, in the
Siberian region of Russia, there’s hope that these big cats are making a comeback.

Because of their size, strength, and predatory skills, tigers are considered one of the
“big cats.” Lions, cheetahs, jaguars, and cougars are also part of this grouping.

Tiger stripes are special to each individual, and their tails help them to keep their
balance. The big cats share all but 4.4% of their DNA with domestic cats.
MANDRILL

Mandrills are the largest of all monkeys. They are shy and reclusive primates that live
only in the rain forests of equatorial Africa.

Distinctive Colors and Teeth

Mandrills are extremely colorful, perhaps more so than any other mammal. They are
easily identifiable by the blue and red skin on their faces and their brightly hued rumps.
These distinctive colors become brighter when the animal is excited. They also have
extremely long canine teeth that can be used for self-defense—though baring them is
typically a friendly gesture among mandrills.

Behavior

These are primarily terrestrial monkeys, and they move with long arms to forage on the
ground for fruits, roots, and animals such as insects, reptiles, and amphibians. Their
cheeks have built-in pouches that are used to store snacks for later consumption.
Though mandrills spend much of their time on the ground, they can climb trees and do
so to sleep.

Mandrills live in troops, which are headed by a dominant male and include a dozen or
more females and young. They also gather in multi-male/multi-female groups that can
include some 200 individuals.

Threats to Survival

These colorful primates are threatened. They are often hunted as bushmeat, and many
Africans consider them to be a delicacy. Mandrills are feeling the squeeze of spreading
agriculture and human settlement—both are shrinking their rain forest homeland.
RED PANDA

The red panda is dwarfed by the black-and-white giant that shares its name. These
pandas typically grow to the size of a house cat, though their big, bushy tails add an
additional 18 inches. The pandas use their ringed tails as wraparound blankets in the
chilly mountain heights.

Habitat and Behavior

The red panda shares the giant panda's rainy, high-altitude forest habitat, but has a
wider range. Red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal and northern Myanmar
(Burma), as well as in central China.

These animals spend most of their lives in trees and even sleep aloft. When foraging,
they are most active at night as well as in the gloaming hours of dusk and dawn.

Red pandas have a taste for bamboo but, unlike their larger relatives, they eat many
other foods as well—fruit, acorns, roots, and eggs. Like giant pandas, they have an
extended wrist bone that functions almost like a thumb and greatly aids their grip.

Breeding and Population

They are shy and solitary except when mating. Females give birth in the spring and
summer, typically to one to four young. Young red pandas remain in their nests for
about 90 days, during which time their mother cares for them. (Males take little or no
interest in their offspring.)

The red panda has given scientists taxonomic fits. It has been classified as a relative of
the giant panda, and also of the raccoon, with which it shares a ringed tail. Currently,
red pandas are considered members of their own unique family—the Ailuridae.

Red pandas are an at-risk species, victims of deforestation. Their natural space is
shrinking as more and more forests are destroyed by logging and the spread of
agriculture.
POLAR BEAR

Polar bears roam the Arctic ice sheets and swim in that region's coastal waters. They
are very strong swimmers, and their large front paws, which they use to paddle, are
slightly webbed. Some polar bears have been seen swimming hundreds of miles from
land—though they probably cover most of that distance by floating on sheets of ice.

Arctic Adaptations

Polar bears live in one of the planet's coldest environments and depend on a thick coat
of insulated fur, which covers a warming layer of fat. Fur even grows on the bottom of
their paws, which protects against cold surfaces and provides a good grip on ice. The
bear's stark white coat provides camouflage in surrounding snow and ice. But under
their fur, polar bears have black skin—the better to soak in the sun's warming rays.

Hunting

These powerful predators typically prey on seals. In search of this quarry they frequent
areas of shifting, cracking ice where seals may surface to breathe air. They also stalk
ice edges and breathing holes. If the opportunity presents itself, polar bears will also
consume carcasses, such as those of dead whales. These Arctic giants are the masters
of their environment and have no natural enemies.

Breeding and Behavior

Females den by digging into deep snow drifts, which provide protection and insulation
from the Arctic elements. They give birth in winter, usually to twins. Young cubs live with
their mothers for some 28 months to learn the survival skills of the far north. Females
aggressively protect their young, but receive no help from their solitary male mates. In
fact, male polar bears may even kill young of their species.

Polar bears are attractive and appealing, but they are powerful predators that do not
typically fear humans, which can make them dangerous. Near human settlements, they
often acquire a taste for garbage, bringing bears and humans into perilous proximity.
RED FOX

Red foxes live around the world in many diverse habitats including forests, grasslands,
mountains, and deserts. They also adapt well to human environments such as farms,
suburban areas, and even large communities. The red fox's resourcefulness has earned
it a legendary reputation for intelligence and cunning.

Behavior and Communication

Red foxes are solitary hunters who feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, and other small
game—but their diet can be as flexible as their home habitat. Foxes will eat fruit and
vegetables, fish, frogs, and even worms. If living among humans, foxes will
opportunistically dine on garbage and pet food.

Like a cat's, the fox's thick tail aids its balance, but it has other uses as well. A fox uses
its tail (or “brush”) as a warm cover in cold weather and as a signal flag to communicate
with other foxes.

Foxes also signal each other by making scent posts—urinating on trees or rocks to
announce their presence.

Breeding

In winter, foxes meet to mate. The vixen (female) typically gives birth to a litter of 2 to 12
pups. At birth, red foxes are actually brown or gray. A new red coat usually grows in by
the end of the first month, but some red foxes are golden, reddish-brown, silver, or even
black. Both parents care for their young through the summer before they are able to
strike out on their own in the fall.

Red foxes are hunted for sport, though not extensively, and are sometimes killed as
destructive pests or frequent carriers of rabies.