Giraffes, the world’s tallest mammals, are iconic inhabitants of the African savanna. Their impressive height and distinctive appearance are largely supported by a specialized herbivorous diet. Sustaining their massive bodies requires a significant intake of plant matter. Understanding what and how much giraffes consume offers insight into their adaptation to their environment.
Daily Food Quantity
An adult giraffe typically consumes 34 to 75 kilograms (75 to 165 pounds) of vegetation daily. This substantial intake supports their large size, with females reaching over 1,800 pounds and males over 2,600 pounds.
Giraffes spend up to 75% of their day, or 16 to 20 hours, feeding. This extensive period is necessary because they are browsers, selectively eating leaves, twigs, and buds rather than grazing on grass. While 34 kg (75 pounds) is typical, some sources indicate consumption can reach 45 kg (100 pounds) or even 75 kg (165 pounds) daily.
Daily food intake represents approximately 1.6% of their body weight. Their feeding strategy focuses on obtaining nutrient-rich browse. Giraffes can survive on as little as 15 kg (33 pounds) of food per day if necessary.
What Giraffes Eat
Giraffes are primarily browsers, meaning their diet consists mainly of leaves, shoots, and buds from trees and shrubs. They can consume over 100 different plant species, with acacia trees being a major food source. They also eat plants like mimosa and wild apricot trees, along with herbs, climbers, vines, flowers, and fruits when available.
Their unique anatomy enables them to access foliage other herbivores cannot reach. Their long, prehensile tongues, measuring 45 to 55 centimeters (18 to 22 inches), are used to strip leaves from thorny branches. The tongue’s dark color, often black to dark blue or purple, is thought to protect it from sunburn during prolonged exposure to the African sun.
In addition to their dexterous tongues, giraffes possess thick, pliable lips and a hardened palate that efficiently remove leaves, even from thorny plants. They are ruminants, similar to cows, with a four-chambered stomach that processes their fibrous diet efficiently. After initial swallowing, they regurgitate partially digested food, known as cud, to chew it again before final digestion. This rumination process aids in breaking down tough plant material and is part of their daily activity, especially at night.
Influences on Feeding
Several factors can influence a giraffe’s daily food intake and feeding patterns. These include individual characteristics such as age and sex. For instance, adult females might have a nutritionally richer diet compared to males, consuming lower proportions of fiber and lignin. Activity levels also play a role, as more active giraffes may require greater energy intake.
Environmental conditions and seasonal food availability impact wild giraffes. During dry seasons, when high-quality forage is scarce, browsing time increases, and giraffes may travel further to find suitable vegetation. They adapt their diet to available plant species, consuming deciduous trees during wet seasons and evergreen species near water sources during dry periods. Prolonged droughts can lead to food scarcity, affecting giraffes and their habitats.
The feeding patterns of wild giraffes differ from those in captivity. In zoos, giraffes receive a more consistently provided diet, often including hay, pellets, and various browse. While captive diets aim to replicate natural feeding, research indicates that the lack of natural browsing opportunities can affect their behavior, sometimes leading to repetitive oral actions. Providing varied browse and environmental enrichment in captivity is important to stimulate natural foraging instincts and promote well-being.