15 facts about giraffes you might not know

Did you know Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months? However, there are other animals that are pregnant for even longer including the Elephant that remains pregnant for nearly two years.

Here are some things you might not know about Giraffes

• A giraffe’s 6-foot-long neck weighs about 600 pounds
• A giraffe could look into a second-story window without having to stand on its tiptoes
• Males grow up to 18 feet tall
• Females grow up to 14 feet tall
• The “Horns” are not really horns. However, the “horns” called ossicones are bony lumps covered with skin and hair
• The only other animals to have ossicones is the okapi
• Most giraffes have 2 ossicones but males could have up to 5
• You can tell male and female giraffes apart because males have larger “horns”
• The male “horns” usually have no hair on their horns due to fighting
• “Horns” or ossicones appear flat on newborns but pop up about one week after birth
• A giraffe's feet are the size of a dinner plate—12 inches across
• Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months
• At birth, the front hooves come out first followed by the snout
• Calves are 6 feet tall at birth
• Giraffes are the tallest land animals

What you've missed from #GiraffeWatch

Thanks to NC Zoo and San Diego Zoo for facts on Giraffes!