RETICULATED GIRAFFE

Quick Facts About Giraffes:

  • Giraffes are the tallest mammals on earth. Their legs alone are taller than many humans-6 ft.
  • A giraffe’s neck is too short to reach the ground. As a result, it has to awkwardly spread its front legs or kneel to reach the ground for a drink.
  • A giraffe’s spots are much like human fingerprints. No two individual giraffes have exactly the same pattern.
  • Giraffes only need 5 to 30 minutes of sleep in a 24-hour period. They often achieve that in quick naps that might last only a minute or two at a time.

Did you know our male Giraffe, Juma, is the same age as our female lions? Giraffes, however, can live twice as long!

Conservation Status:  Endangered
El Paso Zoo Location:  Upper Savannah in the African section