Next week is the launch of The Too Tall Giraffe. I thought it would be fun to share some fun facts about baby and kid giraffes. 

Fact #1

If you’ve had a baby, you will feel for giraffe mothers because they are pregnant for 15 months. Yes, you heard me right; 15 months, as in a year and a quarter. If you’ve ever given birth – not me – you know that those nine months can be very long, imagine 15. (Mom’s have told me 9 months feels long.)

Fact #2

When mom has that baby, she her baby is called a calf. 

Kruger National Park

Fact #3

That baby that took 15 months to create is born at about six feet. So taller than me, fully grown.

Fact #4

The baby calf is going to be dependent on his or her mother for about 9 to 12 months for her milk. 

Fact #5

Similar to human babies, at some point, they do start eating regular foods. Around 4 months they start supplementing their diet with Acacia leaves. 

Fact #6

Remember how mom was pregnant for 15 months? Well, if she had a little boy, after about 15 months that little boy is heading out and finding another herd of giraffes. And living with them for the rest of their lives. Poor mom.

Fact #7

If mom is lucky enough to have a little girl, the daughter is only sticking around for 18 months. While some girls stay with the herd that their mother is in, but some of them moved to another herd, which is usually not too far off. 

Bonus Fact

This one, I think, is really important because this speaks to how and why some of the subspecies of giraffes are endangered. Baby giraffes in their first year, in some populations, have a mortality rate of about 50%. Yes, 50% of baby giraffes in some areas are not making it to the age of one. This has to do with poaching, diets, encroachment from humans, and other environmental factors. That fact makes me sad and is why there is a decline in the number of giraffes over years. 

Thanks for taking the time to learn a little bit more about giraffes today. If you want to learn more about The Too Tall Giraffe, out next week on June 23rd, you can head over to the website, TheTooTallGiraffe.com.