Did you know that you can tell if a giraffe is a girl or a boy just by looking at their horns? It’s true! Girl giraffes have horns that are covered with soft fur. Boy giraffes have horns too, but theirs are not covered with fur. Isn’t that interesting?
Giraffes are very different from some other animals you might know, like lions. Lions love to sleep a lot, but giraffes are not very sleepy at all! Most giraffes only sleep for a little bit each day, between 10 minutes and 2 hours. That’s not much sleep, is it?
Do you know what is really funny about giraffes? They like to sleep standing up! Yes, you read that right. While most animals lie down to sleep, giraffes stay on their feet. It might seem strange to us, but it’s perfectly normal for them.
Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world. They have long necks that help them reach leaves high up in trees. Even though their necks are so long, they have the same number of neck bones as we do—just seven! Giraffes also have big hearts to pump blood all the way up to their heads.
Next time you see a giraffe, remember these fun facts and share them with your friends. Giraffes are amazing creatures with some pretty cool habits!
Giraffe Horns Craft: Gather some craft supplies like paper, cotton balls, and glue. Create your own giraffe horns! Make one set with soft fur using cotton balls to represent a girl giraffe, and another set without fur for a boy giraffe. Display your creations and explain to your family or friends how you can tell the difference between girl and boy giraffes.
Sleepy Animal Observation: Observe your pet or a stuffed animal. Do they sleep lying down or standing up? Pretend to be a giraffe and try to take a nap standing up. How does it feel? Discuss with your classmates or family why you think giraffes might sleep standing up and how it might help them in the wild.
Neck Length Experiment: Use a measuring tape to measure your neck and compare it to a toy giraffe’s neck. How many times longer is the giraffe’s neck compared to yours? Discuss why having a long neck is helpful for giraffes and try to reach for something high up like a giraffe would. What challenges do you face?
Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
“Do you know how to distinguish females from males? It’s quite easy. The females have horns covered with fur, while the males do not. Unlike other animals of the savannah, such as lions, giraffes are not sleepy at all; most of them sleep between 10 minutes and 2 hours a day. And do you know what their favorite sleeping position is? Standing up! Strange, right?”
