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AnAge entry for Giraffa camelopardalis

Classification (HAGRID: 02395)
TaxonomyKingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Artiodactyla
                Family: Giraffidae
                    Genus: Giraffa
SpeciesGiraffa camelopardalis
Common nameGiraffe

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

Maximum longevity39.5 years (captivity)
Sourceref. 671
Sample sizelarge
Data qualityhigh
Observations

There are anecdotal reports of giraffes living over 40 years. One wild born specimen was about 39.5 years when it died in captivity [0671]. Tooth wear has been suggested to have a significant deleterious impact in captivity [0827].

Life history traits (averages)

Female sexual maturity1,278 days
Male sexual maturity1,644 days
Gestation457 days
Weaning152 days
Litter size1 (viviparous)
Litters per year0.5
Inter-litter interval620 days
Weight at birth58,500 g
Weight at weaning
Adult weight800,000 g
Postnatal growth rate
Maximum longevity residual100 %

Metabolism

No information on metabolism available.

References
[0827] Clauss et al. (2007), Tooth wear in captive giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis): mesowear analysis classifies free-ranging specimens as browsers but captive ones as grazers, PubMed
[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0677] Saether and Gordon (1994), The adaptive significance of reproductive strategies in ungulates, PubMed
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0436] Cutler (1979), Evolution of human longevity: a critical overview, PubMed

External resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information SystemITIS 625036
Animal Diversity WebADW account
Encyclopedia of LifeSearch EOL
Genome ProjectSearch NCBI
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