Ask anyone which animal is the tallest animal on the planet. The answer will be unambiguous: giraffe! And what do we know about him, except that he has a beautiful color, moist eyes and a long neck? In this article, we will tell you a few facts about this animal - you will find out how many neck vertebrae a giraffe has, how tall it is, how much it weighs and much more.
Spotted Rarity
Let's start with the fact that at the moment giraffes are listed in the Red Book - there are very few of these animals left in nature. The thing is that giraffes are very peaceful, absolutely non-aggressive animals. Even 200 years ago, they were actively hunted, and not only for the extraction of skins and meat, but also for fun. Giraffes are not currently killed, but this species is gradually disappearing as a result of landscape changes.
Uniqueness is in the neck
Despite the long neck and how many cervical vertebrae a giraffe has (due to which this animal is actually not so different from all other representatives of the fauna), they are not always able to recognize danger in time, and even more so - run away from her. In addition, a running giraffe is a rare and very comical sight, reminiscent ofslow gallop.
Just imagine: the growth of this animal sometimes reaches 6 meters, while almost half is its neck. How many neck vertebrae does a giraffe have? Ten, twenty? The reader will be surprised, but there are seven of them! That is exactly the same as in all other animals. Why is the neck of this savannah inhabitant so long, if it's not at all about how many cervical vertebrae a giraffe has? The thing is that his cervical vertebrae are unusually elongated. It is because of this that the neck of a giraffe does not bend well. Also, because of the long neck, giraffes are forced to breathe very often - about 20 breaths per minute. For example, we humans only take 15 breaths in the same amount of time.
The weight of an adult male giraffe can reach 800 kilograms. His heart is very powerful. Why, he has to pump the blood of such a tall creature up his long neck. No wonder it weighs around 11 kilos!
And thorns - nothing
Giraffes are big gluttons! Chewing greens, especially acacia, is their favorite pastime. Most likely, this is due to the long neck of the giraffe, through which food travels for a long time into the esophagus. At the same time, the giraffe's mouth is unique - it is surrounded by a dense stratum corneum, and its saliva is very viscous. Thus, giraffes painlessly eat thorns without risking injury.
And if the answer is "Seven!" to the question: "How many cervical vertebrae are in the spine of a giraffe?" - in principle, we expect, then the length of the tongue of this long-necked animal plunges into a real shock! He has it - as much as 46 centimeters!
Giraffes sleepstanding and very little - only about 10 minutes a day. Apparently, they have time to doze while they slowly chew their food.
These inhabitants of the savannah live in small groups - 10-15 individuals each. At the same time, they are incredibly "talkative", however, the human ear is not able to recognize these sounds, since giraffes communicate in the infrasonic range.
