Q 01/05

What is the tallest land animal on Earth?

A) Elephant

B) Rhinoceros

C) Giraffe

D) Hippopotamus

Answer · why

C) Giraffe

They are also the largest ruminants on Earth.

Q 02/05

Why is a giraffe's neck so long?

A) Each cervical vertebra is greatly elongated

B) It has far more cervical vertebrae than other mammals

C) Its skull sits on a long rod of cartilage

D) The neck keeps growing throughout life

Answer · why

A) Each cervical vertebra is greatly elongated

Each neck vertebra is over 28 cm long, and together they make up 52–54 percent of the vertebral column.

Q 03/05

Giraffes are sometimes seen chewing which unlikely item, apparently for its calcium and phosphorus?

A) Old bones

B) Bird eggshells

C) Snail shells

D) River pebbles

Answer · why

A) Old bones

Old bones are chewed, it is thought, for their calcium and phosphorus, a habit called osteophagia; whether a giraffe can digest enough bone to benefit...

Q 04/05

Instead of front teeth, a giraffe's upper jaw has what?

A) A hard palate

B) A row of tusks

C) A horny beak

D) Extra molars

Answer · why

A) A hard palate

A hard palate, or dental pad, stands in for upper front teeth, as in other cud-chewers: the lower incisors press leaves against it and strip them from...

Q 05/05

Studies in captivity found that giraffes sleep about how much per day?

A) Under 1 hour

B) Around 4.6 hours

C) Around 8 hours

D) Around 12 hours

Answer · why

B) Around 4.6 hours

They usually sleep lying down, though older individuals have been seen dozing on their feet.