You will see both reticulated and Masai giraffes on the African Savanna at the Zoo.

The Masai giraffe has a light brown coat with darker brown spots with jagged edges surrounded by a yellowish border. The reticulated giraffe has large, solid chestnut brown spots, separated by a network of bright white lines. 

At the Columbus Zoo, we’re dedicated to the conservation of giraffe, specifically through our participation in The Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) program.

Scientific Name: Giraffa camelopardalis

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Size: Height ranges from 14 to 19 ft.

Weight: 1,400 to 2,600 lbs.

Median Life Expectancy: Males 16.5 years; Females 20.3 years

Giraffe
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Nutrition
Giraffes may eat up to 75 pounds of food each day, so they eat most of the day. They are ruminants, which means they regurgitate their food after swallowing to chew on it again. Their favorite leaves are from thorny acacia trees. Giraffes have long tongues that help them reach the leaves while avoiding the thorns. These leaves are full of water, so giraffes can go a long time without drinking. Giraffes can drink as much as 10 gallons of water in a day.

At the Zoo, giraffes receive alfalfa hay, assorted browse, a specially formulated herbivore pellet, and romaine lettuce. 
Current Range and Historic Range
Giraffes are native to Africa and are mainly found south of the Sahara in eastern and southern countries. However, they have disappeared from most of western Africa, except for some small populations. They have been reintroduced in South Africa to protected game reserves. 

The reticulated subspecies of giraffes live in north-eastern Kenya and across the borders in south-eastern Ethiopia and south-western Somalia. Masai giraffes are found in southern Kenya and large areas of Tanzania.
Habitat
Giraffes typically roam the grasslands and open woodland habitats.
Predators and Threats
Giraffes have some natural predators, including lions, leopards, hyenas, and crocodiles. These animals usually target young, sick, or old giraffes. Healthy adult giraffes can usually defend themselves against most predators.

The threats to giraffe populations are different depending on where they live. One of the biggest dangers for all African wildlife, including giraffes, is habitat loss. This is mainly due to deforestation, farming, and land being used for different purposes as human populations increase. Droughts are also becoming more frequent because of poor land use and global warming. Additionally, local conflict and poaching can threaten giraffes and their habitats.
Physical Description and Adaptations
Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world. They have seven long bones in their necks, just like humans! Both male and female giraffes have horn-like bumps on their heads called ossicones, which are covered in hair and made of hard cartilage. Their body shape makes their front legs look longer than their back legs because of a sloping back from their shoulders to their tails. Giraffes have long, strong legs that let them run fast when they need to, reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour for short distances, and they can maintain a speed of about 10 miles per hour over longer distances. Their unique patterned coats serve as camouflage, allowing them to blend in with the leaves and shadows in their habitat.

Their long eyelashes keep dust and debris out of their big eyes, and they have fantastic distance vision, allowing them to see nearly all around them. This height gives them the nickname "watchtowers of the Serengeti." If a giraffe suddenly runs away, other animals pay attention because it probably spotted a predator.

Giraffes have long, flexible lips and dark purple-black tongues that can be up to 18 inches long, which help them grab and pull leaves off branches. Their thick, sticky saliva protects their mouths from sharp thorns when they eat. As ruminants, giraffes have a four-chambered stomach that helps them digest tough plant materials like leaves. Giraffes have a specialized circulatory system. The heart is exceptionally large and strong to pump blood up the long neck to the head. They have high blood pressure to keep blood flowing to the brain. This is important because there is a lot of pressure from the blood already in the neck and the pull of gravity working against it. Additionally, they have special valves in their circulatory system that adjust the blood pressure when they bend down to drink.
Reproduction
Giraffes can mate at any time of the year, but they usually breed the most during the rainy season. After a long pregnancy of 14 to 15 months, a single calf is born, arriving feet first and dropping about six feet to the ground. When they're born, giraffe calves are already around six feet tall! They can stand and walk within an hour and start drinking milk from their mothers right away.

To stay safe from predators, young calves often hide on the ground during the day. The mother giraffe will come back to feed her calf at night, staying close to protect it. After four to five weeks, older calves begin to gather in "nursery" groups, where one mother watches over them.

By about four months old, young giraffes start to eat leaves but usually keep nursing until they are about nine months old. Female giraffes (cows) tend to stay with the herd, while male giraffes (bulls) often become solitary and seek their own group as they grow older.
Communication
Giraffes are thought of as silent animals, but they can grunt, whistle and bleat. They snort when alarmed. Studies suggest that giraffes vocalize below the level of human hearing and can communicate over a long distance.
Behaviors
Giraffes live in loose herds composed of males and females of all ages. Males establish hierarchy by a behavior called “necking.” During necking, bulls hit their necks together, push each other, and sometimes wrap their necks around each other to see who is stronger. This helps them compete for the chance to mate with females. To protect themselves from predators or other giraffes, they can also kick with their strong legs.

Giraffes rest with their eyes open, standing or lying for three to five minutes at a time. A giraffe rarely sleeps more than one total hour per day. 
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LIFE-SAVING SUPPORT: GIRAFFE PLASMA BANK

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo co-founded the giraffe plasma bank, collaborating with other zoos to collect plasma for animals in need of transfusions. These transfusions have saved young giraffes by boosting their immune systems with vital antibodies and proteins. The plasma is collected through the dedicated efforts of the Animal Care and Conservation Medicine teams, training giraffes to participate in blood collections voluntarily and without sedation.

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Bobbie
Name
Bobbie
Gender
Male
Year Born
2019
Weight
1851 lbs.
Identification Notes

13'6" tall
Wide ossicones, triangle-shaped face, more orange in coloration than the other Masai, very large chest spots

Additional Information
Born at the Houston Zoo
Charlie
Name
Charlie
Gender
Male
Year Born
2022
Weight
982 lbs.
Identification Notes

10' tall
Masai. Narrow face, light coloration, smallest of the four calves.

Additional Information
Born at CZA. Mother is Zuri. Father is Enzi
Conner
Name
Conner
Gender
Male
Year Born
2010
Weight
1831 lbs.
Identification Notes

14'6" tall
Reticulated male. Conner is missing part of his right eyelid due to a trauma suffered when young. Lean body. White lines of coat appear to bleed into brown spots. Lots of white on face. Very bright and active.

Additional Information
Fort Worth->Binder Park
Digi
Name
Digi
Gender
Female
Year Born
2011
Weight
1607 lbs.
Identification Notes

13'5" tall
Masai female. Friendly. Long tail hair. Ossicones are fluffy on top and bow inwards slightly. White face.  

Additional Information
Louisville->Cincinnati
Mother of Sammie (12/09/2020).
James
Name
James
Gender
Male
Year Born
2020
Weight
1776 lbs.
Identification Notes

12'9" tall
Masai. Long ossicones with fluff on top, narrow face, star on his right cheek, shy

Additional Information
Born at the LA Zoo
JP
Name
Jon Pederson (JP)
Gender
Male
Year Born
2013
Weight
2295 lbs.
Identification Notes

14;4" tall
Reticulated male. Jon is a confident and personable animal. He is much darker in coloration than most of the reticulates. His face and head are darker than the others and he has some black areas within his spots. He is built very stocky and has thick ossicones.

Additional Information
From Great Plains Zoo
Kipawa
Name
Kipawa
Gender
Male
Year Born
2013
Weight
1776 lbs.
Identification Notes

13'5" tall
Reticulated, male. Kipawa is smaller than most male giraffes his age. He has narrow set ossicones and is missing the tip of his left ear.  Kipawa is extremely tractable and is a very reliable feeder from the public.

Additional Information
From Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Lance
Name
Lance
Gender
Male
Year Born
2014
Weight
2180 lbs.
Identification Notes

14'3" tall
Reticulated male. Dark coat, darker than most giraffes. Face is also dark with less white around his eyes. Long, slightly droopy upper lip. Calm and well adjusted.

Additional Information
From Jacksonville Zoo
Logan
Name
Logan
Gender
Male
Year Born
2014
Weight
1671 lbs.
Identification Notes

12'5"
Reticulated.  Lighter in color than Lance, Faint whit spots with brown spots. Slender face, white around eyes. Very curious, outgoing and calm.

Additional Information
From Jacksonville Zoo
Half-brother to Lance.
Nitro
Name
Nitro
Gender
Male
Year Born
2010
Weight
2006 lbs.
Identification Notes

14'9" tall
Male, reticulated. White spots within brown spots. Lots of bold spots on his face and up his ossicones, very curious, tractable. Often seen chewing/sucking on the other giraffes’ manes, ears, and ossicones.
 

Additional Information
Denver Zoo->Cleveland Zoo
Sam
Name
Kasamba (Sam)
Gender
Male
Year Born
2010
Weight
2305 lbs.
Identification Notes

14'10" tall
Reticulated male. Sam has very short ossicones and has a bold, defined pattern of spots. His face has more white than the others; he is very tractable and curious. He likes to play with things in his mouth and is often seen clicking his tongue. Curious and friendly. Long tail hair.

Additional Information
From Buffalo Zoo
Ralph
Name
Ralph
Gender
Male
Year Born
2020
Weight
1217 lbs.
Identification Notes

12' tall
Masai. Lighter in color than the two female calves.

Additional Information
Born at the Columbus Zoo. Mother is Zuri. Father is Enzi.
Sammie
Name
Sammie
Gender
Female
Year Born
2020
Weight
820 lbs.
Identification Notes

10'6" tall
White around the eyes. Fluffy ossicones.

Additional Information
Born at the Columbus Zoo. Mother is Digi. Father is Enzi.
Schaefer
Name
Schaefer
Gender
Female
Year Born
2020
Weight
1427 lbs.
Identification Notes

12'6" tall
Masai. Tallest of the four calves. Dark face, thick ossicones
 

Additional Information
Born at the Columbus Zoo. Mother is Jana. Father is Enzi.
Utu
Name
Utu
Gender
Male
Year Born
2009
Weight
1831 lbs.
Identification Notes

14'1" tall
Male, reticulated, long tail hair, left ossicone broken and bent over, many bumps on head, light face, dark brown spots, friendly

Additional Information
Binder Park->Bronx Zoo. Grandson of former zoo giraffes Kenya and Tsavo.
Waibig
Name
Waibig
Gender
Male
Year Born
2011
Weight
2485 lbs.
Identification Notes

15'2" tall
Male hybrid (Masai-Nubian). Waibig is our only hybrid giraffe. His markings resemble a Masai, but he has more spots on his face than the other Masai. The has tufts of hair on the top of his ossicones that stand out. Tractable, a more stand-offish giraffe than the others but will still eat from the public.

Additional Information
From The Wilds
Zuri
Name
Zuri
Gender
Female
Year Born
2010
Weight
1901 lbs.
Identification Notes

14'5" tall
Masai female. Zuri is the largest of the females, tall with a large head and long face. She has a large amount of white around her eyes. Somewhat shy. 

Additional Information
Ellen Trout->The Wilds
Mother of Ralph (06/28/2020) and Charlie (08/31/2022)