A Giraffe Has the Same Number of Neck Bones as You Do
The giraffe is the tallest living land animal. Its neck contains seven vertebrae, exactly as many as a human neck.
The giraffe is the tallest land animal alive, reaching around five and a half metres. The famous fact is anatomical: that enormous neck holds seven vertebrae, the same number as yours. They are simply each about twenty-five centimetres long.
- A tall African mammal with a very long neck. *A herd of giraffes.*
- Giraffe as a term of size (informal). *He is a giraffe of a man.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | giraffe | A young giraffe. |
| Plural | giraffes | Six giraffes. |
| Group | tower | A tower of giraffes. |
| Young | calf | A giraffe calf. |
| Related | okapi | The okapi, its closest relative. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Giraffes browse on acacia leaves.Browsing means eating from trees, not grass.
- A giraffe calf falls two metres at birth.Mothers give birth standing up.
- The okapi is the giraffe's only living relative.A forest animal with a short neck.
Facts about the animal
- Seven neck vertebrae β the same as almost all mammals
- A tongue about forty-five centimetres long β dark, to resist sunburn
- Sleeps very little β often in short bursts while standing
- Heart adapted for the height β thick-walled and powerful
- Patterns are individual β like fingerprints, no two are alike
Through French and Italian from Arabic *zarΔfah*. Medieval Europeans called it the *camelopard*, believing it a cross between a camel and a leopard, and the giraffe's scientific name still records that guess.
How many neck vertebrae does a giraffe have?
Seven, the same as a human. Each one is simply very long.
Why was it once called a camelopard?
Because early European accounts described it as having the body of a camel and the spots of a leopard.