Southern Giraffe Photographs by Yvonne van der Mey

An animal that is known by everybody as the tallest animal on earth, and it's undoubtedly my number one favourite. They are very intriguing animals, not just in the way they look, but also in their character. They can live solitary lives very easily, but also enjoy being part of a group. They don't really form family herds. If they do join a group, giraffes automatically participate in the protection of the group, especially the youngsters. Giraffes don't seem to need a strict hierarchy, except when it comes to mating when they fight over females. In these fights, they strike each other with their long necks and heads. Predators, such as lion, are chased off with well aimed kicks from the hind legs, which can easly kill them.

Giraffes have an extremely long tongue, up to 45 cm, that they use to browse the leaves off Acacias, very prickly knob thorn trees. The giraffe is water dependent and has to drink regularly, but they are very vulnerable when doing so, because they awkwardly have to bend down very low. An old bull giraffe can cause you quite a bit of trouble. Some may kick your car in passing, and some may try to chase you out of their environment. Both sexes have "horns", which are not real horns, but rather bony substances covered in hair. The females have a tuft of hair on top of the horns, while the males are bald.

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