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Rothschild Giraffe  Giraffa Camelopardilas Classification; Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Giraffidae Genus: Giraffa Species: G. camelopardalis SubSpecies: G.c. rothschildi

Description; The giraffe is the tallest land animal on earth.They have a long neck, four legs, a long, strong tongue which is about 45 cm long and is used to pull leaves from branches, and a long tail that is used for brushing flies away.The Rothschild Giraffe have a thick spotted coat and each giraffe has its own unique pattern.Rothschild's giraffe are easily distinguishable from other subspecies. The most obvious sign is in the colouring of the coat, or pelt. Where the reticulated giraffe has very clearly defined dark patches with bright whitish channels between them Diet; Giraffe's are herbivores, Because of their long necks allow them to eat the leaves from taller trees such as acacia and wild apricot which gives them an advantage over other herbivores.But they can also eat shoots, fruit and other vegetation. In the wild;  Female giraffe, or ‘cows’, mate with local dominant males, ‘bulls’. These bulls compete with each other by swaying and curling necks. Newborns are kept away from the main herd by the mother for the first 10–30 days and weaning takes place by 13 months. Lions, Spotted Hyaenas and leopards are the natural predators of young giraffe. Threats; Traditional hunting, poaching for the tourist trade and habitat loss have contributed to the declining numbers and, in some cases, the complete extinction of giraffe from some areas of their former range Gender; Males are larger than females and their two largest ossicones are usually bald from sparring. They usually tend to be darker in colour than the females, although this is not a guaranteed indicator. Young; Rothschild's giraffe mate at any time of the year and have a gestation period of 14 to 16 months, typically giving birth to a single calf. They live in small herds, with males and females (and their calves) living separately, only mixing for mating Conclusion; <span style="color: #6df226; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Rothschild giraffes are currently listed as endangerd, with few hundred left in the wild,All of those that are living in the wild are in protected areas in Kenya and Uganda. There are varouise captive breeding programs in place- notibly the giraffe center inNairobi,kenya- to expand the gene pool in the wild population of Rothschild giraffe.Giraffes are beautiful peaceful creatures and are slow browsers.

<span style="color: #16b70b; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 180%;">Bibliography; <span style="color: #6df226; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">http://www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au/animals-plants/africa/african-savannah/rothschilds-giraffe/ <span style="color: #6df226; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_giraffe

<span style="color: #f8a430; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 200%;">By Morgan M. 7C