At birth, baby giraffes are dropped about six feet onto the ground from their Mom, imagine how scary that must be.
Baby giraffes spend a little over a year inside their mother’s womb! Once they are born, the baby is dropped about six feet onto the ground from Mom, imagine how scary that must be. But scientists say this is the best way to ensure that baby giraffes take their first breath in order to be healthy.
Do you know that human babies are patted on the back in order to cry as soon as they are born? This is because crying generates the negative pressure that is required for the air to move into their lungs for the first time. Since, humans and baby giraffes are both mammals, connected to their mothers by a placenta and umbilical cord; it is likely that their first cries follow the same principle too. Like human beings, baby giraffes have developed vertebrae as soon as they are born. Interestingly, the number of vertebrae is the same as that in human beings; thirty-three.
Giraffes have bluish purple tongues! Little kids eat coloured candy to give their tongues a vampire look, but a baby giraffe doesn’t eat candies to colour its tongue. It is naturally like that, and it is hairy too (because that assists with eating leaves). An ideal kiddy monster!
Baby giraffes like to feed on their mother’s milk for six months before they eat leaves and twigs.
They needs the mother’s help because they can’t reach up to higher tree branches even though they are approximately six feet tall when born. The Mama giraffe plucks leaves and branches and puts it into the baby’s giraffes mouth. It is pretty dependant on its mother this way for awhile after born. Mama also cleans the baby and takes good care of it. A baby giraffe will never have a twin sibling, because the mother does not give birth to more than one baby at the same time. This lets the baby giraffe claim undivided attention and love from the mother.
When the mother giraffe needs to go and look for food, baby giraffes are never left unattended. A female giraffe is always watching the baby giraffe.The babies get to play with each other during this daycare like experience! Like humans, they will start to miss their mother and will wait for her where she was last seen until she comes back. Baby giraffes really love their mom! Baby giraffes stay with their mother for about four years before they are fully grown and begin a life of their own.
