AnimalsThe giraffe is the tallest animal on Earth. Its long neck has only seven bones, the same number as a human neck. It browses leaves from the tops of thorn trees with a long, dark tongue. Each giraffe has its own pattern of patches.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Giraffa camelopardalis
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Herbivore (eats plants)
- Lives in
- Africa south of the Sahara
- Habitat
- Savanna and open woodland
- A young one is called
- calf
- A group is called
- tower
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Artiodactyla
- Family Giraffidae
- Genus Giraffa
- Species Giraffa camelopardalis
More distant relatives in the order Artiodactyla: Bactrian camel, blackbuck, chital, cow, dromedary camel, gaur, goat, hippopotamus, moose, nilgai, pig, reindeer.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The giraffe is listed as Vulnerable. The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.