How giraffes use their spots to stay warm in heavy rainstorms

If you’ve ever had to run for shelter during a bad storm, spare a thought for giraffes.

Due to their towering height, the world’s tallest mammal often cannot take shelter during heavy rain and strong winds, meaning they have no choice but to stand there and get drenched.

A video showing a herd of giraffes – which can grow to as tall as 5.5m – standing in the middle of a violent rainstorm in Kenya went viral recently on social media, illustrating the brown and yellow creature’s plight for all to see.

“It never occurred to me that giraffes can’t really take cover from storms,” the post by Earth Curated read.

But while the thought of standing up in the pouring rain sounds sad to us humans, experts at Sydney Taronga Zoo have explained that giraffes are actually perfectly safe weathering storms.

HOW GIRAFFES ARE BUILT FOR RAIN
When a big storm erupts, your first instinct would probably be to run for shelter. Getting wet in rain might make you feel cold and shivery, which would probably teach you over time to avoid being caught out in bad weather.

However, the body of a giraffe has evolved very differently.

There aren’t really any large enough trees to shelter under in the African savannah*, so the giraffe’s body has to get wet.

Taronga Zoo senior giraffe keeper Renae Moss told news.com.au that giraffes have built-in thermoregulation* to help them deal with the cooler temperatures rain may bring.

“The patches on (their) coat are not just for camouflage but have a series blood vessels underneath for thermoregulation,” she said.

Rather than sitting down and waiting for the storm to pass, giraffes were better off standing tall throughout the torrent*.

“Standing is the safest position for a giraffe,” Ms Moss said. “Because of their large size and unique body shape, sitting puts them in a vulnerable* position since it takes several seconds for them to get back on their feet.

“Sitting in the rain would be even riskier, as the sound of rainfall could mask the approach of predators*. In addition, rising from wet, muddy ground would be more difficult and slippery.”

THE REAL THREAT FACING GIRAFFES
Even though giraffes were perfectly safe and adapted to being out in bad weather, the viral video of giraffes being rained on received an emotional response from social media users who felt bad for the gentle brown-eyed giants.

But Ms Moss said rain did not pose any danger to the animals. In fact, she said the biggest threats faced by giraffes came from humans themselves.

“It is amazing that social media is drawing attention to vulnerable species like giraffe, but their biggest threat is not rain,” she said. “Human encroachment* and habitat loss pose a greater threat to their survival. Without rain, giraffes cannot survive as they will lose their food and water source.

“Giraffes have evolved to survive in these conditions for many years and videos like these are a very anthropomorphic* view of giraffe life.”

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GLOSSARY

• savannah: a grassy plain with few trees
• thermoregulation: the biological process animals use to keep their internal body temperature constant even when the outside world gets very hot or cold
• torrent: a fast moving stream of water
• vulnerable: in danger
• predators: animals that hunt them in order to eat them
• encroachment: when human activities like farming and building cities and roads take over the natural habitats of animals
• anthropomorphic: putting a human understanding over the way animals live

EXTRA READING
Meet Zoo’s hand-raised giraffe calf
Historic giraffe birth at Aussie zoo
Ancient giraffe ancestor was a headbanger

QUICK QUIZ
1. Why is it safer for giraffes to stand rather than sit in the rain?
2. How do the spots on giraffes help to keep them warm?
3. Why can’t giraffes seek shelter when it rains?
4. What are the biggest threats facing giraffes?
5. How tall do giraffes grow?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. ‎Keep them dry!
Design a special umbrella or device that could be used to protect giraffes from heavy rain in the wild. Remember that your design must help to keep them safe from predators!

Time: Spend at least 20 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Design and Technologies

2. Extension
If a group of giraffes could watch a video of humans being caught in a rainstorm, how do you think they would react? Write a script of what you think giraffes would say and feel if they saw how the rain affects us!

Time: Spend at least 20 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English.

VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB).

Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.

What can you come up with?

Remember to use your VCOP editing skills to read aloud, edit and up-level.