They can run as fast as 35 miles an hour over short distances.

A giraffe's tongue is purplish-black, perhaps to protect against sunburn.

The average giraffe has about 200 spots.

Their favorite leaves are from acacia trees. These trees have long thorns that keep most animals from eating them.

Giraffes only need 5 to 30 minutes of sleep in a 24-hour period, but in captivity they sometimes sleep up to 4.6 hours per day.

Ossicones are similar to the horns of antelopes and cattle, except that they are derived from ossified cartilage rather than living bone.

A towers typically has around 15 members led by an adult male.

A newborn calf weighs around 220 pounds, with a height of about 6.5 feet.

In the wild, giraffes usually live around 25 years. In captivity they can live up to 40 years.

Although taxonomic classifications of one to eight extant giraffe species have been described, based upon research into the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently recognizes only one species of giraffe with nine subspecies.