He eats a lot and can eat up to 30 kilograms of food a day. Large animals that live on this continent feed on nutrients such as vegetation. They can also be seen occasionally consuming fruits and grasses. In zoos, visitors are often given vegetable foods like carrots to offer to giraffes as a treat. In captivity, giraffes are fed leaves, some fruits, hay and vegetables, as well as specially designed giraffe food, often in pellet form. The Masai giraffe has experienced a drastic shift in their habitat. On average, a single giraffe will eat about 35 kilograms of plant material in a day. It is unlikely for them to hunt down an adult, but younger individuals are often sought out. Mainly foods that are pretty tall. These animals are browsers, which means they eat the leaves of bushes and, especially, trees. Giraffe are predominantly browsers and mainly eat leaves and buds on trees and shrubs. They will also eat twigs, bark, shoots, fruits, and seeds. A baby giraffe, called a calf, starts life with a 5-foot drop to the ground. In particular, they seek out acacia trees. Next time you go to the zoo, you might notice a few piles of forage that is hung. It eats quite a lot and can eat up to 30 kg of food per day. 1. Being such a large animal can put you at a disadvantage, especially when on the African continent where predators rule the plains. Hello everybody! Measuring around 4 to 6 meters, giraffes are able to reach their favorite meals. The beloved Acacia trees are an abundant grassland species with plenty of leaves, bark, fruits, flowers, and shoots to eat. Giraffes are almost constantly eating: approximately 15 hours a day. Since the males tend to be taller, they eat from the higher branches, leaving the lower ones for the females. Though hedgehogs are able to eat a wide variety of animals, they don’t eat as many slugs as you might think. Eating plants will temporarily replenish a giraffe so that it doesn’t have to take as many risks. Their extreme height allows them to eat leaves and shoots located much higher than other animals can reach. In the wild, the typical giraffe diet is almost exclusively leaves, and the animal eats up to 75 pounds of them a day. This is because they can only be found naturally on the continent of Africa. Giraffes are known for their long necks and towering legs, making them a sight to see at zoos across the globe. The giraffe uses a variety of tricks to get past them. It should be noted that hedgehogs can live in many different types of climates, but this does not have a huge effect on their overall nutritional diet. Giraffes are herbivores, which means they eat only plants. The tall animals eat these plants as they are easy to reach. In this position, they are vulnerable to predators, which may be why they prefer to eat food they can obtain at shoulder level or above. Grass species most commonly consumed by giraffes in these regions are Napier and Elephant grass. The giraffe is a herbivore, meaning that it only feeds on different types of plants. Being born in Africa, giraffes have to watch out for a number of threats. Their long tongues are helpful in eating because they help pull leaves from the trees. In fact, types of snails and slugs only comprise 5% of a hedgehog’s diet ! But why do they have such long necks? In captivity, giraffes are fed leaves, some fruits, hay and vegetables, as well as specially designed giraffe food, often in pellet form. And if so, what does the meat taste like? In the Serengeti, it has been noted that females tend to choose more herbs than males, with the female giraffe diet being richer in nutrients while the male giraffe diet is higher in fiber and lignin. What does a giraffe eat? With the challenges of varying seasons and predation, wild giraffes tend to survive a total of 20 to 25 years. A fun fact about baby giraffes is their ability to run with the herd merely 10 hours after birth. This animal also has stripes on its legs, though it is the only other living member to belong to the family Giraffidae. The exact makeup of their diet varies with their immediate surroundings and the season; however, all giraffes are herbivores, relying entirely on plants for food. of leaves and twigs a day. This is French, the author behind the animal article you have just stumbled upon. Copyright © 2021 animalfoodplanet | Trellis Framework by Mediavine. What do Giraffes Eat? Many zoos raise these food items high in the air to simulate the giraffe’s natural feeding behavior. It’s actually the opposite. While drinking, they are vulnerable to lurking predators. The Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchii), also spelled Maasai giraffe, also called Kilimanjaro giraffe, is the largest subspecies of giraffe. In groups of giraffes, one female is designated the “babysitter” and watches over the calves as they learn to socialize. Once again, giraffes will survive off of leaves, fruits, flowers, bark and buds associated with these trees. A giraffe is an animal that is herbivorous and mainly eats leaves from trees. They forage from trees, bushes and shrubs, and occasionally dine on grass. They may look similar at first, but each pattern is unique. A longtime student of the life sciences, she served as a leader for Girl Scouts and 4H, sharing her interests by teaching children and teens about natural and environmental science and animal anatomy. Coating their mouth in this healing agent is key to eating on the unforgiving Acacia, especially with all of those thorns. These animals can be found near the Horn of Africa. In the wild, giraffes tend to drink in groups, taking turns watching for predators. If you’re a giraffe, you might want to live in a place that is blanketed with trees. How many giraffes are in captivity? Although they drink water when it's available, they can survive where it is scarce. Pressure sensors along the neck’s arteries monitor the blood pressure and activate contraction of the artery walls (along with other mechanisms) to counter this increase in pressure. They even eat some fruit. This difference may help explain how females can produce young even in the dry season when food is not as plentiful. Grouped together under the family Giraffidae, giraffes share a common relative to cows and deer. It takes about six months for a baby giraffe to begin reaching these plants. But, one fact about Acacia is that they are covered in thorns. It turns out the Prickly pear is a member of the cactus family, Cactaceae. The world’s tallest land animal, the giraffe, is an herbivore that needs to be almost constantly chewing to ensure it gets necessary nutrients. Their favorite trees to snack on are acacia and mimosa trees. In the wild, giraffes will eat fruits they find on trees. Winter Season They are most commonly recognized for their reticulated or divided, spots that take on a darker red hue. In addition to Acacia foliage, captive giraffes are often fed nutrient-rich foods including carrots, hay, grain, and fruits. The main delicacy and favorite food for giraffes are acacia leaves. There are about 2,000 individuals found in zoos today, each of which has to be given the proper nutrition. Still, their diet does extend well beyond the more commonly eaten plants just mentioned. The savanna can be described as an area with grassy plains and a few scattered trees. Giraffes love to eat twigs of plants and will also eat plant leaves. African explorers have also documented these animals eating fruit on occasion. When dry seasons hit, giraffes will migrate large distances in search for food. An adult will eat about 75 pounds of food each day. Giraffes can range in color from almost white to almost black, and while the specific patterns vary by species, all have the characteristic splotches that resemble leaves (or in the case of the reticulated giraffe, which has a dark coat, a web of white lines). Typical giraffe feeding habits provide a nice schedule. Those iconic large trees that you find in the African savanna and grasslands are not quite the most desired by browsing wildlife, but the giraffe is well equipped for this plant. Vachellia or Senegalia (formerly Acacia) leaves and shoots form the bulk of a giraffe’s diet in most areas. At four months, a baby giraffe starts to supplement its diet by eating leaves, but it continues to nurse until it is six to nine months old, at which time it adopts a typical giraffe diet. Baby giraffes can be killed and eaten by hyenas. The impact will cause … They prefer to consume what is in the trees including twigs and leaves but also consume a variety of fruits that seasonally grow in the trees. In the wild, the typical giraffe diet is almost exclusively leaves, and the animal eats up to 75 pounds of them a day. Can giraffes eat black wattle leaves. Giraffes also have a built-in protection from their thorny meals: their thick, sticky saliva protects them from any thorns they may inadvertently swallow. Types of Food The most important food for this animal is the acacia tree. This works to their benefit since their 6-foot legs and 6-foot neck make it difficult to bend down to reach water sources, making them vulnerable to predators. Giraffes are known to adapt to the various seasons. She can be found at www.kimberlyyavorski.com. How to Eat a Giraffe 4 September 2010 The Johannesburg Department of Wildlife are concerned that people do not know quite how to eat a giraffe properly so they have produced this rather interesting short animation to give people all the information they need in order to purchase, euthanize and eat a giraffe correctly. Evergreen trees tend to also be a favorite meal during this season to avoid fatigue as they contain more nutrients. Among the common items offered to giraffes are lettuces, carrots, apples, bananas and alfalfa hay. Most of their water comes from all the plants they eat. Just as anywhere else, there are a variety of habitats, each of which the giraffe must find enough food to survive. Giraffes are herbivores, which means they eat plant material like leaves high in the trees, acacia and leaves from bushes. The Acacia tree thorns held among the leaves can grow up to 7 centimeters in length. So how does a giraffe forage through this prickly plant? Their long neck and very long tongue is useful in picking the best twigs and leaves of very tall tress. These trees have long thorns mixed in with the leaves that deter other animals, but giraffes are able to use their long tongues (measuring 18 to 20 inches) to maneuver around the thorns.