Before you think these gentle endangered giants are the most gentle and super cool in the wild, think twice. Giraffes are naturally peaceful animal until they feel threatened, and that is when their deadly weapon comes into full use - The Boney long legs!
From a population of around 140,000 to 80,000 they are now considered an endangered species and the only reason a giraffe stands to fight is because of their offsprings. A calf(baby Giraffe) is defenseless and unable to outrun predators until its about a year plus when it stops breast milk. Although calves starts eating plants at four months after birth, but they still suckle till around 9-12months after birth. So a mommy Giraffe have the most daunting task, protect her calf. Unfortunately, Calves are killed mostly by their mother's kicks while trying to defend them.
Fact is, a giraffe can generate so much force o'er kick, equivalent to an impact of 2,000 Pounds-of-force Per Square-inch (PSI). A well aimed kick takes Down Lions and Lionesses one at a time,that is about the same as the strongest kick ever recorded from a horse and a lot more powerful than a kangaroo kick, which generates just 850 PSI but with deadly claws. This give the giraffe the most deadly kicks in the animal kingdom over the kick-force of Horses or Zebras!
Inarguably the tallest mammals on the planet, and their legs alone are taller than many humans. They are faster than the fastest man, running as fast as 35 miles an hour over short distances, or at 10 mph over longer distances. Despite their long necks, it is too short to reach the ground to take a drink. For this reason,they funnily spread out their legs in front or kneel to reach water holes.
Although, they only need to drink once every few days. Most of their water comes from all the plants they eat on tall tree tops. A giraffe spend most of its life standing up; they sleep, nap, give birth standing up. A calf can stand up and walk after about an hour and within a week, it starts to taste grasses, trees and shrubs. The first few months are the most delicate, almost being hunted by Predators or be kicked to death by their mothers.
They have distinctions like humans, giraffes spots are much like human fingerprints. No two individual giraffes have exactly the same prints/patterns. The male and female giraffes have two distinct, hair-covered horns called "ossicones". They sleep so scantily, needing about 5 to 30 minutes of sleep in a day!
Strangely, these short sleep could be achieved in quick naps that may last only a minute or two at a time. It is a popular misconception that giraffes do not make sounds, they snort, hiss, bellow, and make flute sounds, as well as low pitch noises at low frequencies beyond human hearing ranges.
