Giraffe Camelopardalis Cam
The Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species. Males can be to metres (16 to 18 feet) tall and weigh up to 1,360 kilograms (3,000 pounds). The record-sized bull was m ( feet) tall and weighed approximately 2,000 kg (4,400 lbs.). [2] Females are generally slightly shorter and weigh less. The giraffe is related to deer and cattle, but is placed in a separate family, the Giraffidae, consisting only of the giraffe and its closest relative, the okapi. Its range extends from Chad to South Africa. The species name camelopardalis (camelopard) is derived from its early Roman name, where it was described as having characteristics of both a camel and a leopard .[3] The English word camelopard first appeared in the 14th century, and survived in common usage well into the 19th century. A number of European languages retain it. The Arabic word الزرافة ziraafa or zurapha, meaning "assemblage" (of animals), or just "tall", was used in English from the sixteenth century on, often in the Italianate form giraffa. Male giraffes are around 15–17 feet tall at the horn tips, and weigh 1700–4200 lb. Females are one to two feet shorter and weigh several hundred pounds less than males. Both sexes have horns, although the horns of a female are smaller. The prominent horns are formed from ossified cartilage and are called ossicones. Males sometimes develop calcium deposits which form bumps on their skull as they age, which can give the appearance of up to three further horns. Giraffes have spots covering their entire bodies, except their underbellies, with each giraffe having a unique pattern of spots. They have long, prehensile tongues that are distinctly blue-black to protect from sunburn. Giraffes have long necks, which they use to browse the leaves of trees. They possess seven vertebrae in the neck (the usual number for a mammal). They also have slightly elongated forelegs, about 10% longer than
Size: 3504px × 5256px
Photo credit: © Piotr & Irena Kolasa / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: amazing, animal, animals, beauty, beaytyful, bewitched, big, blue, calendar, card, color, colour, cute, day, fabulous, faery, gorgeous, head, heads, incredible, lovely, magic, marvellous, miraculous, neck, postcard, pretty, sky, spellbound, stand, standing, summer, sun, sunny, sweet, vertical, watch, watching, wonderful
