Population ecology is the study of these and other questions about what factors affect population and how and why a population changes over time. Population ecology has its deepest historic roots, and its richest development, in the study of population growth, regulation, and dynamics, or demography.
When giraffes walk, they move both legs on one side of their body and then both legs on the other side; this is unique to giraffes. However, they run in a similar style to other mammals, swinging their rear legs and front legs in unison. They can reach 55 km/h (35 mph) at full speed but only in brief spurts.
She will kick to protect her baby and unlike almost all other animals she uses her front legs to kick and is capable of kicking sideways. The giraffe's kick is powerful enough to crush a lions skull or break its back. The baby giraffe is around six feet tall at birth and will weigh around 150 pounds. She is very protective of her baby and both are healthy so we do not want to put either one under additional stress by trying to mesure or weigh the baby. This is the third baby giraffe we have had here on the ranch. It is this mothers first. The photo in the lower right corner below here is of the baby giraffe, its mother and the father. If all photo do not load, click on your Refresh or Reload button on your browser.