The giraffe (Giraffa) is the world’s tallest living terrestrial animal and the world’s biggest ruminant. Giraffa camelopardalis is usually thought to be a single species having nine subspecies. Based on studies into the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements of Giraffa, the presence of up to nine current giraffe species has been described. Seven additional ancient species are extinct and only known through fossils.

The giraffe’s most unique features are its exceptionally long neck and legs, horn-like ossicones, and different coat patterns. It belongs to the Giraffidae family, along with the okapi, which is its closest living cousin. From Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east, it has a wide range. Giraffes like savannahs and forests to live in. They eat the leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, mostly acacia species, which they graze at heights that most other herbivores cannot reach.

Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may hunt on giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and children or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males, although they are sociable and can congregate in huge groups. Males create social hierarchies via “necking,” which is a form of warfare in which the neck is utilized as a weapon. Dominant males have access to females for mating, but the females are solely responsible for rearing the offspring.

Because of its unusual look, the giraffe has piqued the interest of many civilizations, both ancient and modern, and has frequently appeared in paintings, literature, and cartoons. It has been extirpated from many areas of its previous range and is listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Giraffes may still be found in a number of national parks and wildlife reserves, although estimates from 2016 suggest that there are about 97,500 in the wild. In 2010, zoos housed about 1,600 animals.

The giraffe, along with the okapi, is one of only two surviving genera in the family Giraffidae of the order Artiodactyla. The family used to be considerably larger, with over ten fossil taxa identified. The extinct deer-like climacocerids may have been their closest known cousins. They belong to the superfamily Giraffoidea, along with the Antilocapridae family (whose sole living member is the pronghorn). These creatures might have descended from the extinct Palaeomerycidae family, which could have also been the ancestor of deer.

The giraffe lineage appears to have begun with the lengthening of the neck. When comparing giraffes to their ancient ancestors, it appears that the vertebrae closest to the head lengthened first, followed by the vertebrae lower down. Canthumeryx, a giraffid progenitor discovered in Libya, has been dated to 25–20 million years ago (mya), 17–15 million years ago (mya), or 18–14.3 million years ago (mya). This animal was antelope-like in stature, thin, and slender. Giraffokeryx, which resembled an okapi or a tiny giraffe and had a longer neck and comparable ossicones, first emerged 15 million years ago on the Indian subcontinent. Giraffokeryx may have shared a lineage with giraffids like Sivatherium and Bramatherium, which have larger bodies.

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