![Baby giraffe standing in front of adult giraffes' haunches](/sites/default/files/2017-06/animal-hero-giraffe.jpg)
Giraffe
![giant panda](/sites/default/files/2017-12/animal-icon-mammals.png)
Mammals
![Map of Africa](/sites/default/files/2017-07/maps-africa.png)
![](/sites/default/files/2017-04/endangered_graph_some_endangered.png)
Some Endangered
facts
![Giraffe standing next to a refrigerator](/sites/default/files/2017-07/card-fridge-size-giraffe_0.png)
![plants](/sites/default/files/2017-06/plants_3.png)
Acacia leaves
![Savannah grassland](/sites/default/files/2017-07/card-habitat-grassland.png)
description
![A giraffe walks on a grassy hill in front of four other herd members in the distance.](/sites/default/files/2017-06/giraffes-01.jpg)
Enjoy the view
Giraffes are the tallest land animals. A giraffe could look into a second-story window without even having to stand on its tiptoes! A giraffe's 6-foot-long neck weighs about 600 pounds. The legs of a giraffe are also 6 feet long. The back legs look shorter than the front legs, but they are about the same length.
![Pair of Masai giraffes](/sites/default/files/2017-06/giraffe-pair.jpg)
"Spot" the subspecies
There is only one species of giraffe. The recognized subspecies include reticulated, Nubian, Uganda or Baringo, Masai, Angolan, and southern. The different kinds can be recognized by their spots and also by where they live in Africa.
![Masai, Reticulated, Ugandan, and Rothschild giraffe patterns](/sites/default/files/2017-06/giraffe-patterns_1.jpg)
Seeing spots
Masai giraffes, from Kenya, have spots that look like oak leaves. Other kinds have a square-shaped pattern that looks like the giraffe is covered by a net. Some zoologists think that the giraffe's pattern is for camouflage.
![Sparring Giraffes](/sites/default/files/2017-06/giraffes-sparring_0.jpg)
Use your horn(s)
Both male and female giraffes have two distinct, hair-covered horns called ossicones. Male giraffes use they horns to playfully fight with one another.