Facts About Reticulated Giraffe

Facts About Reticulated Giraffe : Reticulated giraffe is a special giraffe specie that is native to Somalia, Reticulated giraffe is amazing rare attraction in Kenya as these cannot be found in every part of the country but it can be found in the few places in Kenya especially in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya, therefore a Kenya safari can be rewarding if you spot the reticulated giraffe, the reticulated giraffe is the most well-known of the nine giraffe subspecies and is by far giraffe most commonly seen in the zoos, the reticulated giraffes can be interbreed with other giraffe subspecies if the populations are low in the wild.

Facts about reticulated giraffe.

Being the rare and the special species in the wild, the reticulated giraffe have got the amazing facts that are different from other giraffe species, on a safari to Kenya you will be able to identify some of these facts that will make your safari a unique one.

Reticulated giraffe has brown-orange patches separated by thick, bright white lines unlike other giraffes like the Maasai giraffe which is noticeably darker, with patches separated by irregular, light brown lines all the way down to their legs. Reticulated giraffes are the tallest land animals.

Reticulated giraffe has got extraordinary height, guided by the long necks that are even taller than the most of human, it’s made of seven bones that are the same number of bones that in human neck, they can reach a 6 foot band of foliage that is above the reach of all other animals except the elephant. The reticulated giraffe is known as the successful animal of the African savannah, as they feed on the acacia, combretum trees through the reticulated giraffe do feed on over 100 different plants according to the ones available at the moment. Being with long prehensile tongues and fleshy lips strip leaves from the branches, the tongue is black with about 18 inches (46 cm) long allows the giraffe to reach leaves on thorny branches without scratching its face on eyes.

Reticulated giraffe takes a gestation period of between 14 to 15 month to produce the calf, the mother giraffe produces while standing up and the embryonic sack usually bursts when the baby falls to the ground. Calves are able to run around after only a few hours although for the first 2 weeks of their lives, they generally lie down with their mother guarding them from being preyed on by the hyenas, lions, leopards.

Male Reticulated giraffes reach a towering 18 feet tall and weigh between 2400 and 4250 pounds, the female reticulated giraffes measures up to 17 feet tall and weigh between 1540 and 2600 pounds, a lot of this height and weight is because of the giraffes incredibly long neck, which can be 8 feet in length and can weigh almost 500 pounds.

Reticulated giraffes are also fast and are able to gallop up to 56 kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour), then the mothers aggressively defend their calves, kicking out with their feet at the approach of lions or hyenas. Reticulated giraffes inhabit in the open woodlands and dry savannas with trees, especially various species of acacia trees.

Like other animal species are predated on, the reticulated giraffe is predated upon by the hyenas, leopards, African wild dogs, crocodiles, lions these do disrupt the lives of the giraffes especially the young ones, old or the sick giraffes by preying on them. Reticulated giraffe have an average lifespan of about 25 years in their natural habitat and a range of 20 to 27 years in human care.