Giraffe up. The calf emerges head and front legs first, having broken through the fetal membranes, and falls to the ground, severing the umbilical cord. The mother then grooms the newborn and helps it stand up. A newborn giraffe is tall. Within a few hours of birth, the calf can run around and is almost indistinguishable from a one-week-old. However, for the first 1–3 weeks, it spends most of its time hiding; its coat pattern providing camouflage. The ossicones, which have lain flat while it was in the womb, become erect within a few days. Mothers with calves will gather in
Giraffe before "Giraffokeryx". "Samotherium" was a particularly important transitional fossil in the giraffe lineage as its cervical vertebrae was intermediate in length and structure between a modern giraffe and an okapi, and was more vertical than the okapi's. "Bohlinia", which first appeared in southeastern Europe and lived 9–7 mya was likely a direct ancestor of the giraffe. "Bohlinia" closely resembled modern giraffes, having a long neck and legs and similar ossicones and dentition. "Bohlinia" entered China and northern India in response to climate change. From there, the genus "Giraffa" evolved and, around 7 mya, entered Africa. Further climate changes caused the