Giraffe

Welcome to the bachelor pad!

At our very own Giraffe Heights walkway you can literally be as tall as a giraffe. As you stand head height with our giraffes.

All our giraffes are male, so they live happily together in what’s called a bachelor herd. These herds exist in the wild when young males get pushed out of their maternal groups. By gathering together, it means that they are at less risk from predators. Young males will often play-fight, like other animals this is a way for them to develop the fighting skills they’ll need later in life to gain mating rights.

Research projects carried out right here at Folly Farm have shown that male giraffes in captivity have a set hierarchy (or, pecking order). This means that in captivity, only one male can be kept with a group of females. Although we don’t breed our giraffe, Folly Farm’s role in the breeding programme is an important one as we give a home to males that have been displaced from their herds, or if there are too many males within a group of females.

A giraffe’s Latin name is ‘Camelopardalis’ – there is a reason for this! Due to the slight hump on their back and the spotted patchwork pattern on their skin they were once referred to as a camel-leopard! All true…it’s no tall tale!