Giraffa camelopardalis
Out and about in South Africa’s wild places, the Giraffe is probably the closest thing you can get to a “gentle giant”, although I still wouldn’t venture too close to those powerful legs and heavy hooves if I were you! Towering up to 5 meters high, Giraffe are by far the tallest animal alive on earth today. Bulls can weigh up to 1,500kg, while cows are more delicately built and seldom reach a ton in weight.
Giraffe close-up
Cheeky youngster!
Helloooo!
Giraffe pair
Giraffe
Giraffe bull
Giraffe hide
Giraffes prefer open semi-desert and savanna habitats, especially where thorn trees proliferate. They feed on leaves, shoots, pods, flowers, thorns and fruit, consuming more than 50kg of browse daily. They also have a curious habit of chewing on old bones to supplement the calcium in their diet. When surface water is available, Giraffes will drink regularly, but in drier areas, like the Namib desert, they can survive without water for extended periods.
Giraffe walking away from Bangu in the Kruger Park
The giraffe is Ithala’s emblem
Curious giraffe
Giraffe drinking at Mazithi (Kruger Park)
Giraffe dwarfed
Giraffe and Imfolozi scenery
Giraffe, Girivana (Kruger)
Giraffe near Ngotso Dam (Kruger)
Giraffe reaching for tasty leaves
Giraffes in riverine forest
Curious giraffe
Bending low to quench a thirsty throat
Feeding on a thorn bush
That awkward drinking stance
Giraffe fountain
That awkward drinking stance
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi giraffe
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi giraffe
Giraffe
Giraffe seem to thrive at Augrabies despite the harsh environment
Giraffes
Giraffe society is a very fluid one. Adult cows and their calves congregate in herds numbering up to 30, but these are not very stable and individuals move between herds as they please. Adult bulls live mostly solitary lives, while younger bulls often associate in bachelor groups after leaving their maternal herds. Adult bulls establish their dominance through ritualised displays and fighting by using their long necks and heads as clubs, often knocking one another unconscious and sometimes even causing the death of one of the combatants through a broken neck or limb when they crash to the ground after a well placed blow. Although they seem ungainly, Giraffes can attain speeds of up to 60km/h, run for distances of up to 7km, and jump over fences 1.5m high! Giraffes have acute senses and other herbivore species often accompany them, as Giraffes are usually the first to detect the presence of predators. They are mostly diurnal, preferring to rest in the shade during the heat of the day.
Giraffe in a sea of Mopani
Giraffe in the mopane
Giraffe under heavy skies
Giraffe and oxpecker
Giraffes, S41 (Kruger)
Lazy giraffe
Standing proud
Peek-a-boo!
Mature giraffe bull
Time for a rest
Towering over the road
Tower of giraffes
Young giraffe in Mokala National Park
Giraffe in Mokala National Park
Giraffe family in Mokala National Park
Close-up of a stately giraffe bull
Giraffes in Mokala National Park
Giraffes
Giraffe
Giraffe bull
Giraffe at a gallop
Iconic Ithala: Giraffe and Ngotshe Mountain
Giraffe on the Kwaggasvlakte near Bontle in the Marakele National Park
Giraffe bull
Giraffe
Giraffes
Newly born Giraffe calf with its mother
Giraffe (photo by Joubert)
Giraffe bull
Giraffes
Giraffe youngster
Cows give birth standing up to single calves, although twins have been recorded, after a 15 month gestation. Giraffe calves are about 1.8m high and weigh up to 100kg at birth, and can stand within an hour of being born. Cows are very determined about protecting their calves, and many a lion has been kicked to death when attempting to catch a calf. Calves also fall prey to hyenas and leopards, while adults only really need to fear lions, of which they are a favourite prey. Giraffe can live to an age of up to 30 years in the wild.
Giraffe family
The giraffe is Ithala’s emblem
Giraffes aplenty
Giraffes near Nhlanguleni (Kruger)
Young giraffe males on the Crocodile River road (Kruger)
Giraffe, Shingwedzi (Kruger)
Juvenile giraffe
Giraffe, H1-4 (Kruger)
Mom and baby
Giraffe youngster
That head can deliver a hefty blow!
Giraffe calf
Giraffe
Giraffe
Giraffe calf
Giraffe cousins
Newly born Giraffe calf
Giraffe
Giraffe (photo by Joubert)
Giraffe calf nibbling on tender shoots
Despite being classified as “Least Concern” by the IUCN, giraffe populations are declining across much of their range due to habitat loss and poaching, and the total African population now probably numbers less than 80,000 animals. Over 30,000 animals, representing the two southern subspecies, occur in Angola, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa (where they have been extensively introduced outside their natural distribution range) and likely represent the only stable or increasing populations of giraffe on the continent. South Africa’s biggest population of giraffe occur in the Kruger National Park, but they are also regularly encountered in several other parks and reserves, including the uMkhuze section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, Mapungubwe, Marakele, Mokala and Pilanesberg National Parks, and Ithala Game Reserve, of which they are the emblem.
Giraffe bull
Giraffe enjoying the shade
Giraffe
Giraffe
Giraffe
Giraffe
Scenery near Pretoriuskop, complete with a giraffe
Giraffe calf
Tower of giraffe
Giraffes along the Mphongolo
Giraffe close-up
Young Giraffe
Giraffes on the way to Orpen
Light-coloured Giraffe
Giraffe drinking from a small pan
Giraffe silhouette
Giraffes
Giraffes crossing the road
Giraffe
Resting Giraffe calf
Giraffe
Giraffe
Giraffe roadblock
Giraffes at the junction of Tlou and Sefara
Herd of giraffes on Tshwene Drive
Herd of giraffes on Tshwene Drive
Giraffe eyeing us from a lofty vantage point
Giraffes peering from a clump of bushes
Giraffe close-up
Giraffe checking on the condition of the road
Wary family of giraffes
Giraffe drinking from the Sabie River
Giraffe traversing the plains of Nylsvley
Giraffe
Giraffe calf
Young Giraffe
Drinking Giraffe
Drinking Giraffe
Dribbling Giraffe
Drinking Giraffe
Dribbling Giraffe – photo by Joubert
Drinking Giraffe
Giraffe (photo by Joubert)
Giraffe
Giraffe (photo by Joubert)
Giraffes
Giraffe baby
Giraffe drinking
Giraffe
Young Giraffe
Giraffe
Giraffes
Giraffe snacking
Recent genetic studies suggest that there may actually be four distinct species of giraffe, but it remains to be seen whether this becomes a widely accepted scientific view.
Giraffe at dusk
Icon of Ithala
Sunrise giraffe
Giraffe sunset, near Olifants in the Kruger National Park
Sunrise silhouette
Sunrise silhouette
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