The giraffe is the world’s tallest terrestrial animal, a large herbivore native to the savannas and woodlands of Africa. It is classified as a browser, meaning its diet consists primarily of the leaves, shoots, and fruits of woody plants, rather than the grasses consumed by grazers. The giraffe’s immense size and unique physical traits are directly tied to its highly specialized feeding habits, allowing it to access a food supply largely unavailable to other herbivores.
The Primary Diet: Browsing Specialists
Giraffes primarily subsist on the vegetation of trees and shrubs, a feeding pattern known as browsing. This contrasts sharply with grazing, the method used by animals like zebras, which feed on ground-level grasses and forbs. The giraffe’s diet is highly selective and centered on woody species, with a particular preference for the often-thorny Acacia trees, which are now frequently classified under the genera Vachellia and Senegalia.
They consume leaves, buds, shoots, and flowers, which provide the high concentrations of protein and moisture necessary to sustain their large bodies. A large male giraffe can consume approximately 65 kilograms (145 pounds) of foliage daily. They focus on the most tender and nutrient-rich growth, such as young leaves and flowers, which are easier to digest than mature foliage.
Acacia trees defend themselves by producing sharp thorns and filling their leaves with bitter compounds called tannins. To counteract this, giraffes often select the newest growth, which has lower concentrations of these defense chemicals. Their diet also exhibits seasonal variation, switching from eating the evergreen leaves, twigs, and bark during the dry season to the more succulent, newly sprouted leaves of deciduous trees when the rains arrive.
Anatomical Adaptations for Feeding
The most notable tool is its prehensile tongue, which can extend up to 45–50 centimeters (18–20 inches) in length. This long, muscular appendage acts like a grasping hand, skillfully wrapping around branches to strip leaves while navigating around thorns.
The tongue’s dark, almost black coloration is due to a high concentration of melanin, thought to provide protection against the intense ultraviolet radiation of the African sun during long feeding hours. Tough, thick skin and horny papillae lining the inside of the mouth and lips shield the delicate tissues from puncture wounds. The giraffe also produces a thick, sticky saliva that may coat and lubricate any thorns that are inadvertently ingested.
The giraffe’s immense height provides a feeding advantage by allowing it to access foliage up to six meters (20 feet) above the ground, a resource zone out of reach for nearly all other herbivores. Once the tough, fibrous material is consumed, the giraffe must break it down through rumination. This process involves regurgitating partially digested food for a second, more thorough chewing, which is necessary to extract nutrients from the plant cellulose.
Hydration and Nutritional Supplements
Giraffes possess a highly efficient system for maintaining hydration, primarily by extracting moisture directly from the succulent leaves they consume. This adaptation is crucial for survival in arid savanna environments and allows them to go for long periods without needing to drink standing water. When standing water is available, they will drink, but this requires them to adopt a vulnerable posture by widely splaying their forelegs or kneeling to lower their neck to the ground.
Giraffes occasionally engage in specialized behaviors to supplement their diet with necessary minerals. They have been observed consuming soil, a practice known as geophagy, to obtain salts and other micronutrients that may be lacking in their foliage-based diet. They may also chew on old bones, a behavior called osteophagy, which provides calcium and phosphorus, minerals often deficient in plants.