About the Giraffe
From The San Diego Zoo's Animal Bytes

"Giraffes are the tallest land animals. A giraffe could look into a second-story window without having to stand on its tiptoes. A giraffe's 6-foot (1.8-meter) neck weighs about 600 pounds (272 kilograms). The legs of a giraffe are also 6 feet (1.8 meters) long.

For a giraffe, being tall is an advantage. Giraffes spend most of their day eating because they get just a few leaves in each bite. Their favorite leaves are from the acacia tree. Giraffes are so big that they really don't need to hide from predators. Besides humans, they are hunted only by lions and crocodiles.

Although their numbers have decreased in the past century, giraffes are not currently endangered, but listed as "lower risk" with fairly stable populations. There is one subspecies that is in trouble though. Studies show there are only about 445 Uganda giraffes ("Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi") left in the wild.

The rest of the giraffe species have not become endangered for a number of reasons. They are not feared by humans and they are not killed for any folk medicine remedies. They also do not compete for food with livestock such as sheep and cows, and they do not eat farmers' crops.

Finally, they are admired the world over for their enormous size, natural beauty, and mild nature."