Rothschild’s Giraffe

Rothschild’s Giraffe Natural History

Size

These tall animals can reach 6m in height with males being taller than females and weighing as much as 1930kg.

Habitat and Distribution

Giraffe are found in many countries across southern and eastern Africa. However, this particular subspecies is found in areas of Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.

Age

The lifespan of a Rothschild’s giraffe is up to 30 years.

Diet

They feed mostly on twigs from trees (complete with bark and leaves) but also eats some fruits and grasses.

Groups and Breeding

Giraffe are able to breed from about 4 years of age. One young is usually born after a 15 month pregnancy but twins can occur on rare occasions. Young will almost double their height in their first year and will also be weaned within 12 months too. However, they can start eating solid food from just a few weeks of age. Females with young sometimes gather to create a ‘nursery’ so that mothers can take turns feeding while their calves play.

Threats

This species is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List and their population continues to decline. The biggest threat is habitat destruction and degradation for farming but also hunting for bush meat (particularly by soldiers).
Their natural predators include lions, hyenas, leopards and wild dogs who will hunt the young.

Interesting Facts

Around 34kg of foliage per day is required to maintain an adult giraffe
A new born giraffe is around 1.7-2 meters tall and is already relatively well developed (being able to already run within several hours) after a 400-460 day gestation period.

The Rothschild’s Giraffe During Your Day Out in Kent

We are home to four giraffes. Robin and Ruedi joined our park in early 2020 from Woburn Safari Park. Robin and Ruedi are half-brothers who were born only a day apart in June 2017 (they have the same Dad but different Mums). Ruedi is the tallest whilst Robin is a very confident and food orientated boy! Plus, we welcomed George and Henry early in 2024 from Belfast Zoo. Henry is much younger than the other boys and therefore much smaller than them still. However, that doesn’t stop him from being a confident little lad around the others.
Here our keepers feed them a diet of browse, linseed pellets, lucerne and carrots as treats.