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Giraffes
Giraffes are found in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. They stand approximately 10 feet tall at the sholder, with an overall height of approximately 18 feet. Like most mammals, including humans, they have 7 neck vertebrae, but in the giraffe, these vertebrae are greatly elongated, enabling the animal to browse from tall trees and see long distances. Giraffes feed almost exclusively on the leaves of acacia, mimosa and wild apricot trees. They drink only rarely, taking in approximately 2 gallons of water in a week, and are capable of going long periods of time with no water at all. Giraffes are characterized as timid, naturally quiet, and inoffensive. Their primary preditors are lions and man.
Photo Credit: Ken Stansell, US Fish and Wildlife Service
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Animal Den - Gift Shop for Wildlife Lovers!
National Geographic - Shopping for Adventure? Find books, videos, maps, gifts, and more at the National Geographic Store!
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The most widely dispersed of American cats, cougars once ranged coast to coast, from the southern tip of South America almost to the Arctic Circle. Explorers found them in almost every type of habitat from mountain rain forests to desert canyons and gave them a bewildering plethora of names. Cougar, catamount, painter, puma and mountain lion are all the same animal under different names.
