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A reticulated giraffe's head and neck, showing orange-brown patches outlined by white lines.
Photo: Quartl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Reticulated Giraffe

Giraffa reticulata (also listed as Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata)

An endangered giraffe of northern Kenya with orange-brown patches outlined by a network of bright white lines.

🦓 Hoofed Mammals
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About the Reticulated Giraffe

Reticulated giraffes live mainly in northern and northeastern Kenya. Their coats have orange-brown patches outlined by bright white lines that run all the way down their legs. A giraffe's favorite food is acacia leaves. It uses an 18-inch tongue and flexible lips to reach around the sharp thorns, and it can eat up to 75 pounds of food in a day. A baby giraffe is already about 6 feet tall when it is born.[1][3]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Giraffa reticulata (also listed as Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata)[3][4]
Size
Giraffes stand up to 14 feet (4.3 m) tall for females and up to 18 feet (5.5 m) for males.[1]
Weight
Females up to 1,500 pounds (680 kg). Males up to 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg).[1]
Lifespan
15 to 20 years.[1]
Diet
Herbivore. Favorite food is acacia leaves. Can eat up to 75 pounds (34 kg) of food a day.[1]
Habitat
Open plains dotted with trees.[1]
Where it lives
Mainly northern and northeastern Kenya, with a few small groups possibly left in southern Somalia and Ethiopia.[3]
Babies
Pregnancy lasts about 14 months. A newborn calf is about 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighs 100 to 220 pounds (45 to 100 kg).[1]
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2018).[3][4]

Fun facts

  • A giraffe's tongue is about 18 inches (46 cm) long. Its dark color helps protect it from sunburn.[1]
  • Giraffes need only 5 to 30 minutes of sleep in a 24-hour day.[1]
  • A giraffe has seven neck bones, and each one can be more than 10 inches (25 cm) long.[1]
  • The horn-like bumps on a giraffe's head are covered in hair and are called ossicones.[1]
  • Thick, sticky saliva coats any acacia thorns a giraffe swallows.[1]

Vocabulary

reticulated
Marked with a pattern of lines that form a net or web.
ossicone
A bony, hair-covered horn on top of a giraffe's head.
browse
To feed on leaves, twigs and shoots from trees and bushes.
prehensile
Able to grab or wrap around things, like a giraffe's lips.
endangered
A conservation label meaning a species faces a very high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. “Giraffe.” https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/giraffe (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] African Wildlife Foundation. “Giraffe.” https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/giraffe (accessed 2026-10-02)
  3. [3] Giraffe Conservation Foundation. “Reticulated giraffe.” https://giraffeconservation.org/giraffe-species/reticulated-giraffe/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  4. [4] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. reticulata (Reticulated Giraffe).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/88420717/88420720 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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