What is the tallest animal?
The giraffe is the tallest animal. Adult males can reach about 5.5 meters (18 feet), and their legs alone are taller than most adult humans.
A giraffe's height comes mostly from its long legs and neck. Its neck can be about 2 meters long, yet it has only seven neck bones, the same number as humans. Each bone is simply much longer.
Being tall lets giraffes eat leaves high in acacia trees that other animals cannot reach. Their tongues are about 45 centimeters long and dark in color, possibly to protect against sunburn. A giraffe's heart weighs about 11 kilograms and pumps with high pressure to push blood up to its brain.
Life on the savanna
Giraffes live in the savannas and open woodlands of Africa. They sleep only a few hours a day, often in short naps, and can run at about 55 km/h. A newborn calf drops about 2 meters to the ground at birth and can stand within an hour.
Did You Know?
No two giraffes have exactly the same coat pattern. Scientists use the patches like fingerprints to identify individual animals.