In the zoo giraffes studied in Netherlands, 24 percent of REM-sleep episodes lasted less than a minute. In captivity, giraffes need to be less alert and therefore tend to sleep more - sometimes up to 4.5 hours, and usually at night. Seems impossible, right? They often achieve that in quick naps that may last only a minute or two at a time. Let’s find out! As opposed to constantly being in grave danger out in the wild, giraffes are relatively safe while in captivity. Lying down makes it harder for them to run away or kick a predator, increasing their chances of falling prey to to an attack. (2018). Sometimes dolphins swim while in this weird sleep mode, at other times they float around in an activity called “logging” for obvious reasons. Adult giraffes may occasionally sleep in this posture as well, though only for very short periods of time. Seeing baby giraffes sleeping is particularly rare in the wild. You have probably asked yourself, “Do giraffes sleep standing up or lying down?” As you might have guessed, a giraffe's sleeping habits are very different from other animals. When they really do need to catch some rest, they fold their legs under their bodies and lie down. In the zoo giraffes studied in Netherlands, 24 percent of REM-sleep episodes lasted less than a minute. Can A Silverback Gorilla Defeat A Lion, Tiger Or Bear In Battle? You'll receive our news updates once every 2 months. They would still sleep for only a few minutes at a time but for a total time of 4.5 hours per day, most of the time during the night. If you see baby giraffes sleeping, you’ll notice that they always sleep in the position that their adult counterparts choose to avoid. Probably not. They would still sleep for only a few minutes at a time but for a total time of 4.5 hours per day, most of the time during the night. The animals can live 10 to 15 years in the wild and 20 to 25 years in captivity. Giraffes have a top speed of about 56 kilometres per hour (35 miles per hour), however, because its legs are so long a galloping giraffe does not appear to be going very fast. Fennessey, S. et al.

They tend to sleep in small, 5-minute increments to maintain their safety. Giraffes are very susceptible to becoming prey, so they must sleep in short bursts.

Tracking, capturing and transporting a wild African giraffe - BBC The evolution that has taken place, being able to survive without much sleep, is what helps keep the animal safe.

Required fields are marked *. Opt in to receive news and updates. The classic giraffe pose of paradoxical or deep sleep has the beast lying down with its neck arched backward and its head resting on its hindquarters or the ground – a stance that's been compared to a sleeping swan. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Even though they are horizontal, they keep their necks vertical.

Incentive Travel Trips: Pinch A Penny Safari Experience. The giraffe browses on the twigs of trees, preferring plants of the Mimosa genus; but it appears that it can, without inconvenience, live on other vegetable food. However, not all animals share the same sleeping habits. Yes, you’re right. However, research has shown that there are periods where the birds appear – like sharks – to go into “slowdown” periods where they don’t flap as much, which may be the avian equivalent of power naps. In our long-term conservation project in northwest Namibia we now know that some giraffe that were first identified as sub-adults in 2000, are still alive today – making them some of the oldest recorded giraffe in the wild. Many animals sleep very differently from humans, since they are at risk of becoming prey, but giraffes have more to fear than most. That’s got to be tiresome. al.

That’s the plight of the giraffe, one of the strangest and most charming of the animal kingdom’s creatures, and is almost certainly the main reason they sleep in ways that are always strange and always short. Giraffes are the tallest land animals. That being said, giraffes have one of the shortest sleep requirements of all mammals in the world. Behavioural inventory of the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). Seeber, P., Ciofolo, I., Ganswindt, A. Researches have observed three types of sleep in giraffes: standing, recumbent, and paradoxical. If you want to read similar articles to Do Giraffes Sleep Standing Up?, we recommend you visit our Facts about the animal kingdom category.

Giraffe Sleep: Short and Sweet. It is also true that many species do need to swim constantly to survive. This is an activity that is thought to be difficult when lying down. Their brains basically stop functioning. Standing sleep saw a giraffe erect but motionless with its neck tilted a bit more forward than while walking; the researchers hypothesized this was probably a form of light napping. Female giraffes have their own sleep cycles, especially when they’re nursing an offspring. Young giraffes in the wild can sleep for longer stretches, because the adults keep a look out and protect them from predators.

Even in this extremely relaxed state, they are constantly scanning for potential threats. Giraffe mortality rates vary from region to region dependent on density of natural predators. With 24 hours per day, 30 minutes of sleep is nothing! Camouflage, Poison and Hypnosis – How Cuttlefish Catch Their Prey. Sleeping makes them vulnerable to predators. Another theory suggests that giraffes don't sleep much because of their eating habits, and the fact that they spend a lot of their day ruminating. Rumination requires giraffes to continuously chew partially digested food to break it down even more.

That's deep sleep, mind you. So short naps, rather than a long night's sleep, can help them avoid predators better. While they can sleep standing, it isn’t hard to imagine the risk to an elephant (and thousands of smaller creatures!) You will not be subscribed until we receive your confirmation. Now imagine that you woke up outside, without any doors or walls to keep you safe, and there really was a monster – in fact, several of them – all around you in the dark. It's the best way to learn about our work and how you can get involved! Now, for the big question: how exactly do giraffes sleep? But no mammal is the same. Rumination requires the giraffe to bring up partially digested food – the cud – from a specialized stomach chamber (the rumen) and chew it to further break it down. Fennessey, J., Marais, A., and Tutchings, A. And when they do sleep, usually it's just for a few minutes; until the 1950s, researchers believed that giraffes don't sleep at all. Yet there are so many prey animals in the wildlife ecosystem. However, they are extremely vulnerable and exposed in that position, so this state of deep sleep doesn’t last for more than a few minutes. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. By Staff Writer Last Updated Apr 2, 2020 5:48:03 AM ET. Not exactly, but marine mammals are certainly contenders. Your email address will not be published. How Do Giraffes Sleep in Captivity? Giraffes sleep an average of 40 minutes a day. How Long Do Giraffes Sleep? In total, they rest for only about 1-2 hours a day, but not all at once. Occasionally, these mammals do let down their guard and rest their heads back on their rump. However, even the world’s tallest animal has enemies. As ruminants, giraffes spend long periods chewing their cud, and it’s possible they sometimes doze lightly while doing so.

Ethan Shaw is an independent naturalist and freelance outdoors/nature writer based in Oregon. eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'africafreak_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_14',180,'0','0']));Their digestion process is a little different from that of other mammals.While they eat a lot of plants, they also need to bring up their cud – their partially digested food – and break it down further through chewing. They have adapted to survive on less sleep, in uncomfortable positions, to avoid becoming dinner.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'africafreak_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_11',146,'0','0'])); But how exactly do giraffes sleep, and for how long?

So while giraffes do sometimes rest their muscles with a lie down (and look incredibly strange doing so, with their necks typically curled around to rest on their rumps) and a quick sleep, these moments of slumber are incredibly brief.

Like most other animals, giraffes need to rest to recover energy and develop normally. Giraffe siestas tend to last no more than a few minutes at a time. He holds a B.S. Why do giraffes sleep only a few hours of every day? After all, a deep sleep in the sea is even more dangerous for a dolphin than a slumber near a tiger is for an elephant – the elephant might get eaten, but the dolphin will certainly drown. Back on land, many birds also appear to sleep very differently. They have a need in the wild to use their long tongues for feeding and drinking so in captivity they need to do things with it to keep it occupied. This swan-like sleeping posture is most common among young giraffes and is associated with deeper sleep.

Instead of standing up allows them to quickly run away and get themselves out of danger. In order to land that fatal kick, though, they need to be upright. A giraffe's 6-foot (1.8-meter) neck weighs about 600 pounds (272 kilograms). All Rights Reserved, StomachPunch Media LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Also, it has been noticed that just like humans’, giraffes’ sleeping patterns change with stress. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. While grazing, they might daze for a short moment. Proudly wear your support for GCF! In this article, for example, we explain how horses sleep. For this reason, giraffes in the wild won’t sleep more than 5 minutes at a time. Not only physically, but living beings also evolve in terms of behavior to better suit their “role” in the wild. Baby giraffes need to sleep more than adults, and usually spend longer continuous stretches of time sleeping. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/9194/136266699, 2. Apart from giraffes, other larger animals like horses, elephants, and zebras can sleep standing up. Not so long ago, observers believed they didn’t sleep at all, then this was revised to around 30 minutes a day. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Babies and some adults when the situation allows it, tend to lower to the ground with their legs tucked in on their heads on their back. After all, it would make sense to think that a big body requires more rest. © 2020 Giraffe Conservation Foundation. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.Website design & hosting by Kevin Halfhill. They need to stay alert to protect themselves and their herds from hunters. Giraffes are common in national parks and reserves in Uganda, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

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