Meet the tallest animal on earth. With incredibly long legs and
a long neck, high shoulders and a sloping back, the giraffe is
the tallest mammal in the world. There are eight sub-species of
giraffes found in the dry savanna and semi-desert regions of
Africa. The long neck of the giraffe enables it to browse on the
leaves of the tallest trees. But being slim and tall has its
downside too. Just to get a drink of water from a pool, a
giraffe has to splay its front legs and stoop. No two giraffes
have the same patterns but all of them have larger spots on
their bodies than they do on their heads and legs. Most giraffes
have tan coats with dark brown spots. The reticulated giraffe
has large brown spots outlined in white. The spots help the
animal to hide when standing among trees, the spots blending
with the shadows and the legs looking like tree trunks.