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t’s a girl! Say hello to the newest member of the White Oak giraffe family. She arrived this past summer at the 17,000-acre White Oak Conservation preserve just a short drive from downtown St. Marys. Did you know that giraffe calves are 6 foot tall and can weigh 220 pounds at birth? A giraffe’s gestation period is around 15 months. The long gestation allows the calf to be highly developed before birth, which means that within a few hours of being born, calves are able to stand on their own and follow their mother. Giraffes are predominantly found in open scrub areas. The males can weigh up to 3,000 pounds reaching 16-19 feet; Females – 1,500 pounds 14-15 feet. Their diet consists of leaves and shoots of trees. Their favorite trees are various species of Acacia. The name Giraffe is derived from the Arabic ‘Azarafah’ (one who walks swiftly, gracefully). Giraffes have been clocked at speeds approaching 37 mph. In the walking gait, the legs on one side move forward almost simultaneously, seen elsewhere only in camels and in domestic horses trained to do so. The giraffe is equipped with a 25 pound heart with 3 inch thick ventricle walls, and a pumping capacity of 16 gallons per continued ...
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