The CS Zoo presents the
Giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis
Welcome wrote:WELCOME!
The CS Zoo welcomes you to our giraffe exhibit. We have a few different kind of giraffe, including...
-Reticulated Giraffe(Shown in front)
-Thornicroft Giraffe (Far Right)
-West African Giraffe (Back)
-Many Others!
Our giraffes are fed bales of alfalfa hay mainly, but we also feed them apples, bananas, pellets, and native trees to browse on. The grass is quite similar to the long African grasses they would see in the wild, long and dry. We have a fresh, artificial watering hole for them to get a drink, and (unseen) a sturdy little shelter made out of wood for them to shelter under. The CS Zoo has a whopping 13 giraffes, but you might not see all of them, as their large exhibit leaves lots of room for them to hide. We have:
3 Reticulated giraffe - A teenage male, and an adult female with a calf - they are in the nursery, however, and won't be on exhibit for a while.
1 Thornicroft giraffe - Adult male
1 West African giraffe - Adult female
2 Nubian giraffes - Adult male and a teenage female
1 Kordofan giraffe - Teenage male
1 Rothschild's giraffe - Teenage female
1 Southern giraffe - Adult female
1 Angolan giraffe - Adult male
2 Masai giraffe - Teenage Female and adult female
Lots and lots of necks! Speaking of necks, giraffes have a lot of other interesting characteristics and facts too...
Some giraffe information links
Wikipedia Giraffe
Animal Corner - Information Site
Kidcyber Giraffe Facts
San Diego Zoo - Giraffe
Videos
"Giraffes Can't Dance," a children's song on youtube
Animal Planet - Growing Up Giraffe - A Bit About Giraffes
Baby Giraffe's First Time Standing! (warning - adorable)
Physical Traits
Giraffes are the tallest living land animals in the world. Males can get to five and a half meters tall, and females can grow to nearly five meters. Their height is almost all their long legs and necks. Their legs are an adaptation - they let the giraffe run fast away from predators. Their neck helps them to reach leaves on the tall, scrubby trees of the savanna. Their neck also helps regulate their body temperature; the blood vessels expand to cool off the blood that circulates the body by letting it run around the outside of the neck and releasing heat. The horns on a giraffe's head are called ossicones.
No two giraffes have the same pattern - they're all different, like your fingerprints or a zebra's stripes. They are blotched in browns and yellows, different breeds having different types of spots.
There are about 9 different sub-species of giraffe. Reticulated, Nubian, Kordofan, Western, Rothschild's, Thornicroft's, Southern, Angolan, and Masai. If you mix two together, you get a hybrid giraffe. Only one sub-species is endangered - the Rothschild's.
There are about 9 different sub-species of giraffe. Reticulated, Nubian, Kordofan, Western, Rothschild's, Thornicroft's, Southern, Angolan, and Masai. If you mix two together, you get a hybrid giraffe. Only one sub-species is endangered - the Rothschild's.
Habitat
Giraffes live in savannas, or grasslands. They walk among animals such as impala, gazelle, wildebeest, elephant, zebra, and gerenuks. Animals that aren't quite on their side include lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and vultures(See "Danger in the Savannah"). Giraffes don't live in places where it's hard to see prey coming, like light forests. They travel in herds, but members come and go all the time. Safety in numbers if you're a giraffe!
Diet
Giraffes LOVE eating. Their favorite food is acacia leaves - but they have to eat for a long time because they can't get many leaves in one bite. The thorns on the acacia trees discourage many animals, but giraffes just reach around them with their super long, dark blueish tongue. It's about 18 inches(46 cm) long!
Acacia is full of water, so giraffes don't usually have to go to a watering hole to get it - but if they do, it's hard for them to stretch out and drink. Plus, they have to have someone on guard for crocodiles and other predators because it's hard for them to quickly react and run away or fight back while in that position.
Acacia is full of water, so giraffes don't usually have to go to a watering hole to get it - but if they do, it's hard for them to stretch out and drink. Plus, they have to have someone on guard for crocodiles and other predators because it's hard for them to quickly react and run away or fight back while in that position.
When not eating, giraffes chew cud. Cud is when they eat the leaves, but have to bring them back up their throat in a ball and re-chew them so they're easier to digest. Eew, right? Well, that's how a giraffe eats.
In captivity, giraffes do live a few years longer and have a better and more constant source of food, plus they don't have to watch out for predators. They drink more in captivity, sometimes up to 10 gallons or 38 liters a day. Because they don't have native plants and trees as much in exhibits, zookeepers put out artificial "food trees" filled with hay and leaves, and they give them nutritious pellets to eat. Treats include apples, bananas, carrots, and fortified crackers and biscuits.
In captivity, giraffes do live a few years longer and have a better and more constant source of food, plus they don't have to watch out for predators. They drink more in captivity, sometimes up to 10 gallons or 38 liters a day. Because they don't have native plants and trees as much in exhibits, zookeepers put out artificial "food trees" filled with hay and leaves, and they give them nutritious pellets to eat. Treats include apples, bananas, carrots, and fortified crackers and biscuits.
Young
Giraffes are born about 15 months after they're conceived. The calf is about 2 meters tall at birth, and they grow rapidly in the weeks to come. Within about an hour they can stand up(wobbly), and after just a few days they can eat solids, though they still get some food from their mother.
Giraffes begin to mature at about 4 years of age.
Giraffes begin to mature at about 4 years of age.
Danger in the Savanna
Giraffes do have predators, though few are brave enough to attack a huge animal like a giraffe. They might look cute and cuddly, but giraffes can put up quite a fight. If a lion really has a taste for giraffe, they'd need nearly all the lioness in their pride to successfully kill one, and even then, there would probably be injuries and even deaths to the lions - those long-necks are tough!
I hope you enjoyed!!
(From Wikipedia)
So, whatd'ya think of the very first CS Zoo animal? It took FOREVER. Maybe in the future they willl be a bit simpler, and I'll hire some staff to help xD Please PM me with any questions/concerns that you'd like to PM instead of commenting ^^ THANKS!
SAVE THE WHALES!!! Man, I have way too many stamps! 
