The giraffe is one of the most recognizable creatures in zoos and wildlife parks, yet it still hides a trove of astonishing secrets. In this top 10 unusual roundup we’ll uncover everything from mysterious color changes to midnight humming, and even a Chinese emperor’s fascination with these lofty mammals.
Why These Top 10 Unusual Giraffe Facts Matter
10 There Are Four Species
Until a comprehensive genetic study in 2016, scientists treated the giraffe as a single species with nine subspecies that had been catalogued between 1758 and 1911. Researchers realized that those old classifications rested on subtle variations in ossicones, coat patterns, and geographic range, which were not robust enough for modern taxonomy.
Unlike the better‑studied lions and elephants, giraffes had been largely overlooked, leaving many gaps in our knowledge. A five‑year investigation finally examined DNA from all nine traditional subspecies, revealing a far more complex picture.
The analysis confirmed that the supposed nine subspecies actually represent four distinct species: the reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata), the Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi), the northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis), and the southern giraffe (G. giraffa). Because these groups do not interbreed, recognizing them as separate species is a crucial step toward ensuring each survives.
9 The Imperial Giraffes
In the early 1400s, the Chinese emperor Yongle dispatched a fleet of seven massive treasure ships on a series of grand voyages that eventually reached the southern tip of Africa. As part of his penchant for exotic curiosities, foreign delegations sent him a parade of unusual animals—rhinoceroses, peacocks, elephants, and bears.
During the fourth expedition, the fleet stopped in Bengal and encountered envoys from the Kenyan port of Malindi. Those envoys presented a live giraffe, which the Chinese promptly stabled aboard one of their colossal wooden vessels—ships that remain the largest ever built from timber.
The giraffe made such an impression that Emperor Yongle commissioned his court artist to depict it, portraying the animal as a qilin, a mythical creature akin to the Western unicorn. A year later a second giraffe arrived, but historical records give no clue about the fate of either animal.
8 They Like Carcasses
National Geographic photographer Corinne Kendall once ventured into Kenya’s Masai Mara and captured a startling scene: two adult giraffes were actively chewing on a dead wildebeest, even tossing the carcass into the air on occasion.
This behavior seemed at odds with the giraffe’s gentle herbivore reputation. However, experts who examined the photographs concluded that the giraffes were engaging in osteophagy—gnawing on bones to supplement calcium and phosphorus, essential minerals for a healthy skeleton.
Further observations have shown that giraffes regularly investigate bones. Another giraffe was filmed licking a dead buffalo skull, and a field researcher noted that he witnesses such bone‑interest about six times per year across his career.
7 Birds Sleep In Their Armpits
The long‑running Snapshot Serengeti camera‑trap project in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park once recorded a behavior never before documented: clusters of yellow‑billed oxpeckers sleeping snugly in a giraffe’s armpits.
Scientists already knew oxpeckers perch on large mammals to pick ticks, sip blood, and clean eye and nasal secretions, but observations had been limited to daylight hours. A night‑time camera capture revealed the birds settling in the warm, protected space under the giraffe’s foreleg.
This discovery makes perfect sense—by roosting close to their food source, the oxpeckers stay safe and warm while remaining within easy reach of the parasites they feed on.
6 Males Turn Black
Male giraffes undergo a striking transformation as they age: their once‑brown patches gradually darken until they become coal‑black. A 2012 study examined 36 males from Zambia’s Luangwa Valley, knowing the exact ages of ten individuals and estimating the rest by the darkness of their coat patterns.
The researchers could draw on more than three decades of longitudinal data, allowing them to chart the timing of the color shift. Calves wean at roughly two years and disperse from their birth herd between four and eight years of age.
The darkening becomes noticeable around seven or eight years old, beginning at the center of each brown patch and spreading outward. It takes about two years for the process to complete, and by roughly 9.4 years most males display fully black spots. The cause remains uncertain, though it may be linked to rising testosterone levels that coincide with sexual maturity.
5 A Mysterious Disease
In 2014, graduate student Arthur Muneza chose giraffes for his master’s research at Michigan State University after learning about a little‑known skin condition affecting the species. While many researchers gravitate toward elephants or big cats, Muneza was drawn to this enigmatic ailment.
Giraffes have long been underrepresented in megafauna studies, and the condition—dubbed giraffe skin disease (GSD)—has received scant attention. Symptoms include gray, bloody, and crusty lesions on the neck and legs, which could be contributing to declining populations.
Muneza’s investigation uncovered how little is known: only eight published sources mentioned GSD, and a questionnaire sent to giraffe professionals yielded just 63 responses. Zoos reported 14 cases among captive individuals, while a survey in Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park found an alarming 79 % prevalence among local giraffes.
4 Marius
In 2014, Copenhagen Zoo faced a heated controversy when it decided to euthanize a healthy 18‑month‑old male giraffe named Marius. Hundreds of thousands signed petitions urging the zoo to find a new home for him, but officials argued that he offered no genetic value to the European breeding program and could spark aggression among the resident males.
Despite the worldwide outcry, the zoo refused relocation attempts. On a Sunday morning, a keeper offered Marius his favorite snack—rye bread—before shooting the animal. The giraffe was subsequently dissected in front of visitors, with his organs distributed among predators and research facilities.
The brutal killing ignited a wave of anger, including death threats directed at zoo staff and their families. Marius’s fate highlighted a grim reality: many zoos cull healthy animals when they don’t meet breeding criteria, lack space, or fail to attract crowds.
3 They Hum At Night
Giraffes are famously quiet, which puzzled scientists who suspected there must be some form of covert communication within their herds. In 2015, researchers placed audio recorders near three European zoos to capture any low‑frequency sounds the animals might produce.
After painstakingly sifting through roughly 1,000 hours of recordings, the team discovered that giraffes emit a low, humming noise—resembling a blend of bees buzzing and soft chanting. Although the pitch falls within the range of human hearing, it had gone unnoticed until the recordings were analyzed.
The purpose of this nocturnal hum remains a mystery. It may help individuals stay connected in the darkness, or it could be a passive by‑product of sleeping, akin to snoring or dreaming.
2 Kenya’s White Giraffes
In 2017, a resident of Kenya’s Garissa County reported spotting two unusually pale giraffes. Conservationists soon located the pair in the Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy, a protected area well suited for such rare specimens.
The animals were identified as reticulated giraffes suffering from leucism, a genetic condition that reduces pigment production. The mother and her calf displayed dark eyes and some residual coloration, distinguishing them from true albinos.
This was the first documented footage of leucistic giraffes, offering scientists a valuable glimpse into a seldom‑seen variation within the species.
1 They Are Critically Endangered
While the African elephant often dominates headlines, giraffe numbers have plummeted by roughly 40 % over the past fifteen years, leaving only about 90,000 individuals in the wild. Habitat loss and poaching have driven the species to extinction in seven African nations.
Even with these alarming trends, the International Union for Conservation of Nature still classifies giraffes as “Vulnerable” rather than “Endangered.” Nonetheless, pockets of hope exist. In 2016, oil exploration threatened a vulnerable herd living on one side of Uganda’s Nile in Murchison Falls National Park.
Conservationists responded by herding twenty giraffes onto a ferry and relocating them to safer ground across the river. The rescued group thrived, and researchers observed a novel nocturnal behavior: the giraffes took turns standing guard while the rest slept with their necks folded over their backs, reminiscent of swans.