Males giraffes are sexually mature at around 4 years of age while the females mature at 5 years of age. Mating follows a dominance hierarchy. The males may fight with their necks and heads over the female. The male will taste the femaleā”s urine to see whether she is ready for mating. The male goes from female to female until he finds a female on heat. He separates her from the herd and follows her around for a day or two, testing her urine several times. He browses by her side during this time. The act of mating is brief, and once finished, they return to browsing for food. The giraffe can reproduce all year round as they are not restricted by the food shortages of a seasonal food supply.

Number of Young

One calf.

Gestation

15 months.

Birth

Giraffes give birth in a traditional calving ground. The female usually returns to the same site each time to have her babies. Giraffes have very large, highly-developed young. The baby giraffe is born with its horns, weighs about 45-68 kilograms at birth and stands 1.8 metres (6 feet) tall. They are born while the female is in a standing position so the baby drops about 6 feet to the ground. They are temporarily stunned by the fall but after about 5 minutes they are standing, and suckling begins 15 minutes later.

They begin to follow their mother after a couple of hours and join the rest of the herd after a couple of weeks. Nearly 60% of the young die or are killed during their first year. After a year they are about three and a half metres tall and they join the herd to forage. Suckling occurs for about 9 months before the calves are weaned.