The Giraffe is the tallest land animal. It can reach a height of 16 feet and weigh over a ton. Despite the long length of the Giraffe's neck it contains only seven bones. The Giraffe eats mainly the leaves of tall trees. The calves are born after a gestation period of 15months and are already five foot tall. They can stand almost immediately.

There are several different races of Giraffe:-

The Reticulated Giraffe from northeastern Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia It has deeply colored spots with bright white lines around them.

The Masai Giraffe from central and southern Kenya and Tanzania. It has jagged edged chocolate colored spots on a yellow background.

The Nubian Giraffe from eastern Sudan and northeast Congo which has large four-sided spots on a light creamy background.

Rothschild's Giraffe from Uganda and parts of central Kenya. It has blotched rectangular spots which poorly defined lines.

The Kordofan Giraffe from Western Sudan which has small irregular spots.

The Peralta Giraffe from Chad which has many small yellowish spots.

Thornicroft's Giraffe from Eastern Zambia which has star shaped spots that go down the legs.

The Cape Giraffe from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique which has rounded spots with light tan in the background.

The Angolan Giraffe from Angola which has large spots which go down the leg.