Giraffe Facts for Kids

A family of giraffes
  • Name: Giraffe
  • Family: Giraffidae
  • Type Species: Giraffa camelopardalis
  • Total Living Species: 8
  • Lifespan: Up to 38 years
  • Diet: Herbivore
  • Weight: Between 1,825 and 2,629 pounds

18 Giraffe Facts for Kids

  1. Giraffes are the tallest living animals that are native to Africa and are members of the Giraffa genus.
  2. The type species for giraffes is the northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis).
  3. There are nine known living subspecies of giraffes.
  4. The estimated wild giraffe population in 2016 was 90,000 individuals.
  5. The average lifespan of a giraffe in the wild is 25 years, while in captivity they can live up to 40 years.
  6. Giraffes are herbivores, and they love to eat the leaves and buds of the acacia tree.
  7. Giraffes can eat up to 100 pounds of vegetation a day.
  8. Since giraffes eat so much vegetation each day, they rarely need to drink water.
  9. A male giraffe can grow up to 18 feet in length
  10. A female giraffe can grow up to 14 feet in length.
  11. A male giraffe on average weighs between 2,400 and 3,000 pounds
  12. A female giraffe on average weighs between 1,600 and 2,600 pounds.
  13. Giraffes can run up to 35 miles per hour over a short distance, and up to 10 miles per hour over a long distance.
  14. A male giraffe is called a bull, a female giraffe is called a cow and a baby giraffe is called a calf.
  15. A group of giraffes is called a tower. These groups on average have 15 members, which usually contains one adult male, multiple adult females and both male and female babies.
  16. A giraffe’s tail is longer than any other mammal’s tail, reaching up to 8 feet in length.
  17. A baby giraffe can stand in as little as one hour after being born.
  18. The current International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conservation status for giraffes is vulnerable.

Additional Resources with Giraffe Facts

  • Giraffe – Learn more about giraffe species on the African Wildlife Foundation website.
  • Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) – Discover some awesome facts about giraffes on the Kruger National Park website.
  • Giraffe Species – Find out more about different giraffe species on the Giraffe Conservation Foundation website.

About the author
Facts Editor

This is an author profile for articles that are created from a collaborative effort. It is not uncommon that articles on this site were either written, researched or fact checked by several authors and team members. So this author profile will be displayed to reflect that. Our team of editors, writers and fact checkers do extensive research before publishing articles on the site, and we do our best to provide the most accurate information possible.