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
Southern giraffe Southern giraffe The southern giraffe ("Giraffa giraffa"), also known as two-horned giraffe, is a proposed species of giraffe native to Southern Africa. However, the IUCN currently recognizes only one species of giraffe with nine subspecies. Southern giraffes have rounded or blotched spots, some with star-like extensions on a light tan background, running down to the hooves. They range from South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique. Their approximate population is composed of 44,500 individuals. All giraffes are considered Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN. Living giraffes were originally classified as one species by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, under the