Baby Giraffe: 9 Facts and 9 Pictures

Baby giraffes are among the tallest baby animals on the planet. However, did you know that they can run ten hours after birth and can moo like a cow? Find out nine awesome baby giraffe facts and look at some adorable pictures of these famously long-necked mammals.

#9: Baby Giraffes Use Their Bottoms as Pillows

Baby giraffes only sleep for about three or four hours a night, but you might be wondering if they sleep standing up or lying down. The answer is both. In the wild, most giraffe babies only sleep for a few minutes at a time, and usually while standing up.

When they do lie down to rest, giraffe calves wrap their long necks around their bodies and rest their heads on their rumps. In other words, their bottoms are built-in pillows.

#8: Baby Giraffes Can Run 10 Hours After Birth

While it’s true that giraffes struggle to walk when they are newly born, that stage is brief. After about 30 minutes of practice, giraffe calves are able to walk with enough stability to avoid stumbling or falling over. 

In fact, within 10 hours of being born, giraffe calves can run and keep up with the adults in their families. Adult giraffes can reach speeds up to 35mph. However, because they are so much lighter, baby giraffes can actually run even faster than the adults.

#7: Giraffe Calves Can Moo

If you’ve ever wondered what a baby giraffe sounds like, you might be surprised to learn that their voices sound more familiar than you might think. That’s right — giraffe calves can moo like a cow. They even make a sound like a cat’s hiss when threatened.

Giraffes also make sounds that resemble a hum to human ears. It was previously believed that giraffes communicated at frequencies so low that human ears couldn’t hear them. However, new research suggests they hum at frequencies around 92Hz. It is within the range of human hearing, but may only be detectable in quiet environments.

#6: When Giraffe Babies Are Born, They Fall Six Feet

Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world, some exceeding 18 feet in height. When adult giraffes give birth, they do so standing up. This means that giraffe calves face up to a six-foot fall from their mothers to the ground when they are born.

Miraculously, this fall rarely injures the babies. Instead, the fall breaks the umbilical cord and frees them from their natal sac, allowing the babies to take their first breath.

#5: Baby Giraffes Stand Six Feet Tall at Birth

Baby giraffes are baby giants. When they are born, they stand at around six feet tall. Baby giraffes weigh about 220 pounds, with males typically being larger.

Giraffe young are born with their eyes open. Their tiny horns, called ossicones, are flat against their heads for a few hours before perking up.

#4: Giraffe Babies Get Their Spot Patterns From Their Mothers

Baby giraffes have their own unique spot patterns. However, did you know they inherit this pattern from their mothers? Recent research shows that a baby giraffe’s spot pattern is similar to its mother’s. Giraffes’ spot patterns don’t change as they grow.

The spot pattern that a giraffe calf inherits has a direct effect on its chances for survival. Some spot patterns provide better camouflage and temperature regulation. They also help older giraffes in their family to identify them.

#3: Baby Giraffes Have Babysitters

When giraffes grow to be about a month old, their mothers leave them in groups called calving pools. This is when another adult giraffe cares for the babies.

While their offspring are in calving pools, the mother giraffes can venture further out to find food and water. Each evening, the mother giraffe returns to retrieve her baby from the calving pool.

#2: Giraffes Double Their Height in The First Year

Imagine being twice as tall as you are now within the next year. For giraffe calves, this is a reality. In fact, as mentioned in #5, they are born about six feet tall. However, over their first year, they grow to be around 12 feet tall.

Most of this growth is in their neck. Rapidly growing taller allows giraffe calves to forage for their own food sooner. This increases their chances of survival and allows them to venture off on their own more quickly.

#1: Some Giraffes Leave Their Mothers by Two Years Old 

Even though two might sound young to humans, to giraffes, it’s a perfectly normal age for the young to be on their own. By two years old, giraffes have left their herd, called a tower, and begin to fend for themselves. Males typically join bachelor herds at around 15 months.

Females, however, often stay with the herds they grew up in. Researchers have found giraffes do not have close ties to herd members other than mothers and children. So, the females can leave at will by around 18 months of age. However, most stick close to their families.