Great Neck Condominiums
Giraffes inhabit open woodlands, grasslands and savannahs of Central and South Africa. Related to the cow, the giraffe is the tallest land mammal and the largest ruminant (even-toes hoofed mammal – suborder Ruminantia). The giraffe’s height is an adaptation for feeding allowing them to reach the freshest leaves at the tops of trees.
It also allows then a great range of vision and should a giraffe see a predator or other danger, it is able to run away at speeds of up to 56 kilometers per hour (34 miles per hour). If a giraffe is forced to fight an attacker, it will use its front hooves to strike out or swing its head around like a club.
If a giraffe wants to eat grass or drink from a stream it must splay its front legs so that its head can reach the ground. The giraffe’s neck contains the same amount of vertebrae as other mammals’ necks, the difference being that the vertebrae of the giraffe are elongated.