Giraffes are still found in numerous national parks and game reserves, but estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild.
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13 Facts About Giraffes
2.
Giraffes have relatively high heart rates for their size, at 150 beats per minute.
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3.
Giraffes have oesophageal muscles that are strong enough to allow regurgitation of food from the stomach up the neck and into the mouth for rumination.
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4.
Giraffes browse on the twigs of trees, preferring those of the subfamily Acacieae and the genera Commiphora and Terminalia, which are important sources of calcium and protein to sustain the giraffe's growth rate.
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5.
Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving "waistlines" to too tall trees.
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6.
Giraffes are usually found in groups that vary in size and composition according to ecological, anthropogenic, temporal, and social factors.
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7.
Giraffes are not territorial, but they have home ranges that vary according to rainfall and proximity to human settlements.
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8.
Giraffes have high adult survival probability, and an unusually long lifespan compared to other ruminants, up to 38 years.
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9.
Giraffes can suffer from a skin disorder, which comes in the form of wrinkles, lesions or raw fissures.
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10.
Giraffes were depicted in art throughout the African continent, including that of the Kiffians, Egyptians, and Kushites.
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11.
Giraffes have appeared in animated films, as minor characters in Disney's The Lion King and Dumbo, and in more prominent roles in The Wild and the Madagascar films.
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12.
Giraffes have become popular attractions in modern zoos, though keeping them healthy is difficult as they require vast areas and need to eat large amounts of browse.
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13.
Giraffes have been extirpated from much of their historic range, including Eritrea, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal.
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