The thick sac protecting the calf prevents it from being harmed during the birth process.Ĭases of twin births are very rare The most common is the arrival of a single calf. However, they do not suffer any hurt, and in a matter of at most 20 minutes, they can walk. After a gestation period ranging from 425 to 465 days, that is approximately 15 months, calves born falling to the ground from almost two meters height from the mother who remains standing up during the birth. The arrival of the giraffes to the world is not the most gentle. They return to the same area where they had previous births, and once the little giraffe is born, it stays with the mother to protect it from predators.
Mothers usually move away from the rest of the herd to have their offspring. The interval between births is almost two years. In captivity, they mate throughout the year as they do not have shortages of food or water. When food supplies are very low, and they struggle to survive are less likely to breed. Young giraffe in the Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa.Īlthough giraffes do not have a mating season, it is more common during the rainy season because they are less stressed out and there is plenty of food to consume. The courting rituals of giraffes involve the chin resting of the male on the back of the female. They show their availability with physical contacts between their front legs and the female’s hind legs. The males emit a strong body odor and smell the urine of the females to know their reproductive status. There is no particular period for the breeding it can occur in any month of the year. Reproduction might be the key to the unique appearance and the long neck of giraffes because, through “necking” or battles made with their necks, they determine the strongest male, and the right to mate with a female, which is the most successful bull reproducing. To find which of them are willing to mate, the males smell their urine. Females are ready to mate when they are about four years of age. However, having access to an available female usually requires a neck to neck fight with other bulls to earn the right to mate so not many can breed at such early age. Males are ready to mate when they are about seven years of age. Giraffes are mammals which go through a reproduction process similar to other animals of the same class but with some characteristics particular to the species.
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