Baringo giraffe, Ugandan giraffe
The Nubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) is the nominate subspecies of giraffe. It used to be widespread everywhere on Northeast Africa. It is currently extinct in the wild of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Eritrea.
Di
DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
He
HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
Fo
FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
Li
LignivoreFr
FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
Gr
GraminivoreIn zoology, a graminivore (not to be confused with a granivore) is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass. Graminivory is a form of g...
Te
TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Vi
ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Pr
PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
No
NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
Br
BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
Po
PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
So
SocialHe
HerdingA herd is a social grouping of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with...
Do
Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
No
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
N
starts withNubian giraffes have sharply defined chestnut-colored spots surrounded by mostly white lines, while undersides lack spotting. The median lump is particularly developed in the male giraffe. The most extraordinary characteristic of the Nubian giraffe is that the extreme length of the forelegs gives the animal a huge stride so that in spite of a rather slow galloping rhythm it can move at speeds up to 48 km per hour (30 miles per hour).
Today Nubian giraffes live in eastern South Sudan and southwestern Ethiopia, and in isolated pockets in Uganda and Kenya. Their preferred habitat includes savannas and woodlands.
Little is known about the behavior of Nubian giraffes. Generally, giraffes are usually found in groups that vary in size and composition. These groups are usually sex-segregated although mixed-sex groups made of adult females and young males also occur. Young males also form groups and engage in playfights. However, as they get older, males become more solitary but may also associate in pairs or with female groups. Giraffes are not territorial, but they have home ranges that vary according to rainfall and proximity to human settlements. Males occasionally roam far from areas that they normally frequent. Male giraffes use their necks as weapons in combat, a behavior known as "necking". Necking is used to establish dominance and males that win necking bouts have greater reproductive success. Giraffes browse during the first and last hours of the daytime. Between these hours, giraffes mostly stand and ruminate. Rumination is the dominant activity during the night when it is mostly done lying down.
Nubian giraffes are herbivores (folivores, lignivores, frugivores, graminivores). They eat leaves, stems, twigs of trees, flowers, and fruits.
Giraffes are polygynous, meaning that males mate with multiple females. Usually, males engage in combats, after which the winner gets right to mate with receptive females whenever and wherever it finds them. Normally, the gestation period lasts 13-15 months, yielding a single baby, rarely - twins. The female gives birth in a calving area, which she further uses throughout her life. A newborn calf can walk in just an hour after birth and can run within 24 hours after birth.
The main threats to giraffes include illegal hunting and poaching; these animals attract hunters for their meat, skin, and tail. Another concern is the loss of their natural habitat due to human activities.
According to IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Nubian giraffe is 455 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving "waistlines" to too tall trees. In addition, when spotting a predator, they can serve as a warning system for other nearby animals.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...