Reticulated Giraffe
Giraffa reticulata
All our giraffes at Alabama Safari Park are reticulated giraffes. Native to the Horn of Africa, they are recognizable by their distinct coat pattern of large spots outlined with white lines.
In the Wild
Approximately 8,500 reticulated giraffes reside in Somalia, southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. They live mainly in savannas, rainforests, woodlands and seasonal floodplains. Giraffes rarely lie down to sleep but rather doze throughout the day.
View the Giraffe Habitat
You can get an eye-to-eye view of our giraffes and feed them by climbing to the platform of our Giraffe Tower.
Learn What the Giraffe Eats
Taking advantage of their height, giraffes use their long, black tongues to grab leaves and new shoots from the tops of trees. Reticulated giraffes eat more than 75 pounds of vegetation every day but they drink only a few times a week and can go weeks at a time without any water.
QUICK FACTS
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Newborn giraffe’s height: 6 feet
Gestation period: 15 months
Daily sleep: 30 minutes
DID YOU KNOW?
Newborn giraffes measure 6 feet tall.
Giraffes’ tongues are black and up to 21 inches in length.
In captivity, giraffes can live for 40 years.
Giraffes have only seven vertebrae in their long necks.
CONSERVATION
Reticulated giraffes’ status is vulnerable. One of the subspecies of giraffe suffering population decline, their primary threats in the wild are habitat loss and degradation, illegal hunting and poaching. We partner with conservation organizations in Africa to protect giraffes in their native lands.