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Savannahs Woodlands Acacieae: Commiphora Combretum Terminalia Brachystegia

Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving "waistlines" to trees that are too tall. Feeding is at its highest during the first and last hours of daytime. Between these hours, giraffes mostly stand and ruminate. Rumination is the dominant activity during the night, when it is mostly done lying down.

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Cezara Teodorescu
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20 views1 page

Savannahs Woodlands Acacieae: Commiphora Combretum Terminalia Brachystegia

Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving "waistlines" to trees that are too tall. Feeding is at its highest during the first and last hours of daytime. Between these hours, giraffes mostly stand and ruminate. Rumination is the dominant activity during the night, when it is mostly done lying down.

Uploaded by

Cezara Teodorescu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and open woodlands.

They
prefer Acacieae, Commiphora, Combretum and open Terminalia woodlands over denser
environments like Brachystegia woodlands.[37]:322 The Angolan giraffe can be found in desert
environments.[82] Giraffes browse on the twigs of trees, preferring trees of the subfamily Acacieae and
the genera Commiphora and Terminalia,[4] which are important sources of calcium and protein to
sustain the giraffe's growth rate. [10] They also feed on shrubs, grass and fruit. [37]:324 A giraffe eats
around 34 kg (75 lb) of foliage daily.[42] When stressed, giraffes may chew the bark off branches.
Although herbivorous, the giraffe has been known to visit carcasses and lick dried meat off bones.
[37]:325

During the wet season, food is abundant and giraffes are more spread out, while during the dry
season, they gather around the remaining evergreen trees and bushes. [4] Mothers tend to feed in
open areas, presumably to make it easier to detect predators, although this may reduce their feeding
efficiency.[69] As a ruminant, the giraffe first chews its food, then swallows it for processing and then
visibly passes the half-digested cud up the neck and back into the mouth to chew again. [49]:78–79 It is
common for a giraffe to salivate while feeding. [50]:27 The giraffe requires less food than many other
herbivores because the foliage it eats has more concentrated nutrients and it has a more efficient
digestive system.[4] The animal's faeces come in the form of small pellets.[7] When it has access to
water, a giraffe drinks at intervals no longer than three days.[42]

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