The lifespan of giraffe in the wild remains uncertain due to a lack of recorded evidence. It was long believed that both male and female giraffe will live approximately 25 years in the wild, with longer lifespans in captivity. However, our long-term research has shown that some giraffe in the wild can live much longer. The longest giraffe conservation monitoring project in Africa was started by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation in northwest Namibia in the late 1990s. Each Angolan giraffe was individually identified and through ongoing monitoring efforts, we can show that some of these Angolan giraffe are still alive today. This makes them the oldest recorded giraffe in the wild.
However, despite their towering height, giraffe have natural predators. Mortality rates vary based on region and predator density. Even adult giraffe can sometimes fall prey to lion, while subadults and calves are particularly vulnerable to hyena, leopard, wild dog, and crocodile.
For instance, in the Serengeti, the infant mortality rate for one-month-old Masai giraffe calves exceeds 20%, and about half do not survive their first six months. This figure climbs to nearly 60% by the end of the first year, decreasing to 8% in the second year and only 3% in the third. However, in the absence of predators, the early mortality rate can be almost zero as observed in some years in Angolan giraffe in northwest Namibia.
Once mature, the defensive kick of an adult giraffe can inflict severe damage on even the most determined predator. Many lion have fallen victim to the power of their dinner plate-sized hooves.
