I wonder what the giraffe's calf is called? The giraffe?

Everything in the living world goes through a single cycle of development: birth-maturation-death. Continuation of the family is the basis for preserving life on the planet. In adult individuals, cubs are born - mice, kittens, lions, elephant and ... giraffe? What is the name of the giraffe's baby? Let's try to answer this question and at the same time we will surprise with the facts about this miracle animal.

The tallest animal in the world

In the savannas of Africa, a 5-6 meter spotted cloven-hoofed wanderer is wandering around - a giraffe. Of all the living creatures on Earth, this animal is the highest. The average size of its dimensions is 5.5 m up to the crown and about 3 m at the withers, the average weight is 1.5 tonnes. The newborn small giraffe has a full height of up to 2 m and weighs about 50 kg. Greater than an adult giraffe, only a rhinoceros, a hippopotamus and an elephant. Like other mammals, males are larger than females.

general description

The giraffe's skin is very beautifully colored irregularly with spots of dark brown color. They are of different sizes and are separated by whitish gaps. The color of each individual is unique and, like fingerprints, has no analogues.

Long - 1.5 m - the neck has 7 vertebrae, as in most mammals. Vertebrae, however, are very elongated in length.

On the head of a giraffe can grow as many as 5 horns - 2 true lengths of 20 cm at the crown, 1 between the eyes (as in the mythical unicorn), 2 "false" in the upper part of the nape. But most of these animals are two-horned.

Running this artiodactyl only in 2 ways:

• With an amble, rearranging one left foot at a time, then two right legs;
• gallop. Now at the same time 2 forward, then 2 rear legs are thrown out, again 2 front legs, 2 back legs. Although it looks very clumsy, but in this way the speed develops over 55 km / h.

His eyesight is incredibly sharp. That's how it stands a tower, surveying the boundless expanses of the savannah from the height of its gigantic growth ...

Giraffes - ruminant artiodactyls, like cows. They feed exclusively on plant foods. Most of all they like acacia spines. In day one individual is able to eat up to 35 kg of greens and more.

Giraffes are scrubbing their tongues, licking their ears like domestic cats.

Giraffes are not very sentimental. Live alone or in small herds. Show moderate affection. Although mothers selflessly defend their offspring.

From enemies - lions, leopards, hyenas, humans - the highest mammal flees. Very rarely responds with a fight. But with predators, there are fights. Defending himself, a giraffe blows a hoof (up to 23 cm in diameter) easily defeats even a lion.

Under favorable conditions, a giraffe can live up to 30 years. Record the longevity of the male in captivity - 36 years.

Reproduction of giraffes

Sexual maturity occurs at 4 years of age. The female is capable to give birth to the next 15 years. The mating season falls on the rainy season - July-September. At this time, peaceful and good-natured giraffes arrange entertaining ritual duels.

Pregnancy of the female, as well as at all large animals, long. It lasts about 14-15 months. Only 1 young giraffe is born.

Within an hour the baby is well on thin legs, and after a couple of hours begins to mischief. The female cares for a giraffe until a year and a half, while he sucks milk. Although green grass, he can pinch at the age of several weeks. At the same age, offspring are allowed into the herd.

And yet, what is the name of the giraffe's baby?

If you think in a scientific way, then in zoology, a giraffe is a cloven-hoofed ruminant mammal. The children of all cloven-hoofed animals are called calves. So, what is the name of the giraffe's baby? Is it the calf as well? But a goat is born to a goat, and a deer is born to a deer. They are not called calves. Hence, a giraffe can have a giraffe, giraffe or giraffe.

It is interesting that in the "Spelling Dictionary" published by the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2001 under the editorship of V. V. Lopatin there is the word "giraffe", as in the "Big Dictionary", published in 1998 in St. Petersburg under By the editorship of AS Kuznetsov.

But if you are in doubt and do not want to get into trouble, call it simply - a giraffe cub. The photo shows how cute and cute they are.

It's interesting to know that ...

1. There are five-legged giraffes. This is not the influence of Chernobyl, but quite an ordinary natural phenomenon.

2. In height, they grow up to 6 years.

3. During the canter, the neck of the giraffe is very much wiggled from side to side, writing out the figure-eight. It seems that now she will knot in a knot.

4. Their saliva is incredibly thick, which helps to swallow your acacia spines without damaging the larynx.

5. Without water, the highest animal in the world can last longer than a camel - weeks, or even months.

6. The birth occurs while standing, so the newborn giraffe (a couple of lines back we found out what the giraffe's calf is called), appearing on the light first of all fall to the ground from a 2-meter height. Nevertheless, their health is in no way affected.

7. He needs to sleep enough 20-120 minutes a day.

8. It is generally believed that they are voiceless. In fact, when communicating, giraffes make sounds below 20 Hz, which is imperceptible to the human ear.

9. Their absolutely black tongue in length has more than 40 cm. The "long" tongues of these "gossips"!

10. They have the world's largest heart (in the literal sense): weighing 10-11 kg, 60 cm long and 6 cm thick with walls. Also these ruminants have the highest blood pressure among animals.