The giraffe (Giraffa) is an African artiodactyl mammal, the tallest living terrestrial animal and

the largest ruminant. It is traditionally considered to be one species, Giraffa camelopardalis,

with nine subspecies. However, the existence of up to eight extant giraffe species has been
described, based upon research into the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as
morphological measurements of Giraffa. Seven other species are extinct, prehistoric species
known from fossils.
The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its
horn-like ossicones, and its distinctive coat patterns. It is classified under
the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range
extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west
to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source
is leaves, fruits and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at
heights most other herbivores cannot reach.
Giraffes may be preyed on by lions, leopards, spotted hyenas and African wild dogs. Giraffes
live in herds of related females and their offspring, or bachelor herds of unrelated adult
males, but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations. Males establish social
hierarchies through "necking", which are combat bouts where the neck is used as a
weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear the sole responsibility
for raising the young.
The giraffe has intrigued various cultures, both ancient and modern, for its peculiar
appearance, and has often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. It is classified by
the International Union for Conservation of Nature as vulnerable to extinction, and has
been extirpated from many parts of its former range. Giraffes are still found in
numerous national parks and game reserves but estimates as of 2016 indicate that there are
approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in
2010.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Taxonomy
o 2.1Evolution
o 2.2Species and subspecies
 3Appearance and anatomy
o 3.1Skull and ossicones
o 3.2Legs, locomotion and posture
o 3.3Neck
o 3.4Internal systems
 4Behaviour and ecology
o 4.1Habitat and feeding
o 4.2Social life
o 4.3Reproduction and parental care
o 4.4Necking
o 4.5Mortality and health
 5Relationship with humans
o 5.1Exploitation and conservation status
 6References
 7External links
Etymology
The name "giraffe" has its earliest known origins in the Arabic word zarāfah (‫)زرافة‬,[2] perhaps
borrowed from the animal's Somali name geri.[3] The Arab name is translated as "fast-
walker".[4] There were several Middle English spellings, such as jarraf, ziraph, and gerfauntz.
The Italian form giraffa arose in the 1590s. The modern English form developed around 1600
from the French girafe.[2] "Camelopard" is an archaic English name for the giraffe deriving
from the Ancient Greek for camel and leopard, referring to its camel-like shape and
its leopard-like colouring.[5][6]

Taxonomy
Living giraffes were originally classified as one species by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. He gave it
the binomial name Cervus camelopardalis. Morten Thrane Brünnich classified the
genus Giraffa in 1772.[7] The species name camelopardalis is from Latin.[8]
Evolution
Ruminantia Tragu
Tragulidae 
  lina
 
Pecor  
Antilocapridae 
a  
 

 
Giraffidae 
 

  
Cervidae 
  

  
Bovidae 
  

 
Moschidae 
 

Cladogram based on a 2003 study by

Hassanin and Douzery.[9]
The giraffe is one of only two living genera of the family Giraffidae in the order Artiodactyla,
the other being the okapi. The family was once much more extensive, with over 10
fossil genera described. Their closest known relatives may have been the extinct deer-
like climacocerids. They, together with the family Antilocapridae (whose only extant species
is the pronghorn), have been placed in the superfamily Giraffoidea. These animals may have
evolved from the extinct family Palaeomerycidae which might also have been the ancestor
of deer.[10]
The elongation of the neck appears to have started early in the giraffe lineage. Comparisons
between giraffes and their ancient relatives suggest that vertebrae close to the skull
lengthened earlier, followed by lengthening of vertebrae further down.[11] One early giraffid
ancestor was Canthumeryx which has been dated variously to have lived 25–20 million years
ago (mya), 17–15 mya or 18–14.3 mya and whose deposits have been found in Libya. This
animal was medium-sized, slender and antelope-like. Giraffokeryx appeared 15 mya in
the Indian subcontinent and resembled an okapi or a small giraffe, and had a longer neck
and similar ossicones.[10] Giraffokeryx may have shared a clade with more massively built
giraffids like Sivatherium and Bramatherium.[11]

The extinct giraffid Samotherium (middle) in comparison with the okapi (below) and giraffe.

The anatomy of Samotherium appears to have shown a transition to a giraffe-like neck.[12]
Giraffids like Palaeotragus, Shansitherium and Samotherium appeared 14 mya and lived
throughout Africa and Eurasia. These animals had bare ossicones and small cranial sinuses
and were longer with broader skulls.[10][11] Paleotragus resembled the okapi and may have
been its ancestor.[10] Others find that the okapi lineage diverged earlier, before Giraffokeryx.
[11]
 Samotherium was a particularly important transitional fossil in the giraffe lineage as its
cervical vertebrae was intermediate in length and structure between a modern giraffe and an
okapi, and was more vertical than the okapi's.[12] Bohlinia, which first appeared in
southeastern Europe and lived 9–7 mya was likely a direct ancestor of the
giraffe. Bohlinia closely resembled modern giraffes, having a long neck and legs and similar
ossicones and dentition.[10]
Bohlinia entered China and northern India in response to climate change. From there, the
genus Giraffa evolved and, around 7 mya, entered Africa.[13] Further climate changes caused
the extinction of the Asian giraffes, while the African giraffes survived and radiated into
several new species. Living giraffes appear to have arisen around 1 mya in eastern Africa
during the Pleistocene.[10] Some biologists suggest the modern giraffes descended from G.
jumae;[14] others find G. gracilis a more likely candidate.[10] G. jumae was larger and more
heavily built while G. gracilis was smaller and more lightly built. The main driver for the
evolution of the giraffes is believed to have been the changes from extensive forests to more
open habitats, which began 8 mya.[10] During this time, tropical plants disappeared and were
replaced by arid C4 plants, and a dry savannah emerged across eastern and northern Africa
and western India.[15][16] Some researchers have hypothesised that this new habitat coupled
with a different diet, including acacia species, may have exposed giraffe ancestors to toxins
that caused higher mutation rates and a higher rate of evolution.[17] The coat patterns of
modern giraffes may also have coincided with these habitat changes. Asian giraffes are
hypothesised to have had more okapi-like colourations.[10]
The giraffe genome is around 2.9 billion base pairs in length compared to the 3.3 billion base
pairs of the okapi. Of the proteins in giraffe and okapi genes, 19.4% are identical. The two
species are equally distantly related to cattle, suggesting the giraffe's unique characteristics
are not because of faster evolution. The divergence of giraffe and okapi lineages dates to
around 11.5 mya. A small group of regulatory genes in the giraffe appear to be responsible
for the animal's stature and associated circulatory adaptations.[18]