Bull: Height to top of head 390 - 520 cm; shoulder height 250 - 350 cm; tail 95 - 150 cm; mass 970 - 1400 kg
Cow: Height to top of head 370 - 470 cm; shoulder height 200 - 300 cm; tail 75 - 90 cm; mass 700 - 950 kg
The giraffe appearently gets its name from the Arabic 'xirapha', which means 'one who walks swiftly'. The giraffe is the tallest animal in the world and with its long neck and legs is unmistakable. A beautiful lattice pattern consisting of large, irregularly shaded patches separated by networks of light coloured bands covers the body. The colouring of the patches is very variable , ranging from light fawn to almost black. Old bulls are often very dark. Knob-like horns are present on the top of the head and these are well developed in adult bulls.
Dry savanna woodland.
Giraffes are active during the day and during the night. They usually rest during the hot midday hours.
They occupy large homeranges, usually between 20 and 85 squared kilometers, but they do not establish territories. They are usually seen in herds of 4 to 30 individuals. These groups are unstable and much wandering takes place. Bulls only associate with cows temporarily. Although giraffes are generally believed to be silent they do have a range of grunting and snorting calls.
Giraffes are browsers, they only rarely eat grass. They have access to food supply beyond the reach of all other browsers. Although they feed from a fairly wide range of trees and bushes, they are selective in what they eat. Twigs are pulled into the mouth by the lips and the long prehensile tongue, which may reach 45 cm in length, and leaves are shredded off into the mouth. Between 15 and 20 hours of each day may be spent feeding.
The giraffes elongated neck has eight vertebrea, one more than most mammals. When giraffes move or lower their heads, sudden changes in blood pressure are buffered by muscular valves in the blood vessels of the neck, an intricate filigree of vessels (called a rete) at the base of the brain, and a 7 cm thick heart.
Wikipedia