Witness the Remarkable Reach and Grace of a Giant Giraffe Bending Down to Drink in the Dark of Night

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The world’s tallest animals, giraffes, are some of the most beautiful animals that we see in Africa. But have we ever really given thought to how they drink water? After all, they can reach up to 20 feet in height. That’s a long way down for a drink of water. Watch how they do it below. 

Giraffe Drinking in Kenya

The next YouTube video posted at the top of this blog post takes us to Kenya, Africa. This video was filmed and shared on the NJ Wight YouTube page. This channel is run by a wildlife photographer. This photographer also captures amazing videos of animals in the wild. She shares videos of animals such as lions, elephants, giraffes, chameleons, and cape buffalo, to list a few. 

“Not an easy feat for a #giraffe to lower their neck, which can be 6 feet long, to grab a drink. Having to spread the legs so wide, puts them in a very vulnerable position. I was thrilled to be able to spend time in the underground #photography hide at Lentorre Lodge and witness the comings and goings of #twildlife at night.” 

Giraffe Bending Down to Drink Water

This beautiful setting is of the world’s tallest animal, the giraffe. He is standing in the water, looking for something to drink at night. To drink, he must bend his legs side to side so he’s able to lift down his six-foot-long neck and take a drink of the water below. 

At 10 seconds, we see this tall mammal lift its head rather quickly, and once he does, he flings the water in his mouth and seemingly stares right into the camera. This gives us an amazing view of this giraffe as a whole. 

This giraffe is joined by a few other friends as well. At 37 seconds, we see that a second giraffe and a zebra have joined them at this watering hole. However, the zebra decides to hang back a bit to let the tallest animals in the world take their time before he goes in for some water.

How Many Giraffes Are in Africa?

Giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) belong to the family Giraffidae. The giraffe can be found solely in Africa. They are found in their natural habitat among semi-arid savannah and savannah woodlands in Africa. 

According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, there is estimated to be a population of less than 117,000. The IUCN Red List considered the giraffe species as a whole to be vulnerable. However, two subspecies of giraffe are considered to be critically endangered: the Kordofan giraffe and the Nubian giraffe.