Clegg, A. (1986). "Some Aspects of Tswana Cosmology". Botswana Notes and Records. 18: 33–37. JSTOR 40979758. Of course, being so lanky does have its disadvantages. Giraffes must awkwardly widen their stance and bend their heads down to drink out of a water hole, making them vulnerable to predators. a b c Fennessy, Julian; Bidon, Tobias; Reuss, Friederike; Kumar, Vikas; Elkan, Paul; Nilsson, Maria A.; Vamberger, Melita; Fritz, Uwe; Janke, Axel (2016). "Multi-locus Analyses reveal four giraffe species instead of one". Current Biology. 26 (18): 2543–2549. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.036. PMID 27618261. S2CID 3991170.

The Masai giraffe ( G. c. tippelskirchi) can be found in central and southern Kenya and in Tanzania. [1] Its coat patterns are highly diverse, with spots ranging from mostly rounded and smooth edged to oval shaped and incised or loped edged. [43] A median lump is usually present in males. [27] :54 [44] A total of 32,550 are thought to remain in the wild, [1] and about 100 are living in zoos. [28] Nubian giraffe born in Al Ain zoo". UAE Interact. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012 . Retrieved 21 December 2010. According to scientific studies, they evolved in the Miocene from ungulate animals occupying regions of Africa and Eurasia; We are talking about 25 million years ago. Eventually, they became extinct, but a new species emerged. Bagemihl, B. (1999). Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. St. Martin's Press. pp. 391–93. ISBN 978-0-312-19239-6.

a b Nowak, R.M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World. Volume 1. The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp.1086–1089. ISBN 978-0801857898. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023 . Retrieved 30 August 2021. Charles Foley; Lara Foley; Alex Lobora; Daniela De Luca; Maurus Msuha; Tim R. B. Davenport; Sarah M. Durant (2014). A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania. Princeton University Press. pp.179–. ISBN 978-1-4008-5280-2. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023 . Retrieved 13 July 2016. Reality is richer than such explanations. The explanation may be coherent and logical, but what it explains is not the thing itself but a specter of it — the isolated aspect that has been abstracted from the whole organism. In reality, the organism as a whole evolves; all its parts are multifunctional, facilitating its interactions with its complex, changing environment. If we don’t consider all partial aspects within this larger context, we can only have inadequate explanations void of life.

a b c d e f g Prothero, D. R.; Schoch, R. M. (2003). Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp.67–72. ISBN 978-0-8018-7135-1. The number of giraffes in a group can range from one up to 66 individuals. [89] [95] Giraffe groups tend to be sex-segregated [95] although mixed-sex groups made of adult females and young males also occur. [91] Female groups may be matrilineally related. [95] Generally females are more selective than males in who they associate with regarding individuals of the same sex. [94] Particularly stable giraffe groups are those made of mothers and their young, [91] which can last weeks or months. [99] Young males also form groups and will engage in playfights. However, as they get older, males become more solitary but may also associate in pairs or with female groups. [95] [99] Giraffes are not territorial, [19] but they have home ranges that vary according to rainfall and proximity to human settlements. [100] Male giraffes occasionally roam far from areas that they normally frequent. [34] :329 The giraffe genome is around 2.9 billion base pairs in length, compared to the 3.3 billion base pairs of the okapi. Of the proteins in giraffe and okapi genes, 19.4% are identical. The divergence of giraffe and okapi lineages dates to around 11.5 mya. A small group of regulatory genes in the giraffe appear to be responsible for the animal's height and associated circulatory adaptations. [16] [17] Species and subspecies Map showing "Approximate geographic ranges, fur patterns, and phylogenetic relationships between some giraffe subspecies based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. Colored dots on the map represent sampling localities. The phylogenetic tree is a maximum-likelihood phylogram based on samples from 266 giraffes. Asterisks along branches correspond to node values of more than 90% bootstrap support. Stars at branch tips identify paraphyletic haplotypes found in Maasai and reticulated giraffes". [18] Giraffes have beautiful spotted coats. While no two individuals have exactly the same pattern, giraffes from the same area appear similar. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Dagg, A. I. (2014). Giraffe: Biology, Behaviour and Conservation. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107610170.The giraffe's stature can be a disadvantage as well—it is difficult and dangerous for a giraffe to drink at a water hole. To do so they must spread their legs and bend down in an awkward position that makes them vulnerable to predators like Africa's big cats. Giraffes only need to drink once every several days; they get most of their water from the luscious plants they eat. Wood, C. (7 March 2014). "Groovy giraffes…distinct bone structures keep these animals upright". Society for Experimental Biology. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018 . Retrieved 7 May 2014.