Animal profile

Giraffe

Giraffa camelopardalis

MammaliaSavanna, open woodland and acacia scrubVulnerable

Field profile

The giraffe is the tallest living land animal, with bulls reaching around five and a half metres. It browses high in acacia and other trees using a long prehensile tongue. Its circulatory system carries unusually high blood pressure to push blood up to the head, and its numbers have declined across much of its former range.

Published field notes

2026-02-15

Giraffe

A giraffe neck holds only seven vertebrae

The giraffe has the same number of neck bones as a human, a mouse and almost every other mammal. The length comes from each vertebra being enormously elongated, with one of them reaching roughly a quarter of a metre.

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