Facts About Giraffe

How long is a giraffe’s tongue? And what color is it?

The short answer: 45 to 50 centimeters (or 17 to 19 inches) long — longer than your forearm — and a startling blue-black-purple. Yes, really. Photograph a giraffe mid-browse and the tongue looks almost unreal. It's one of the strangest and most delightful things about them.

Why is it that color?

Our best theory: sunburn. A giraffe spends a huge portion of the day feeding, tongue extended, in full African sun. Dark pigment at the front acts as built-in sun protection for a body part that’s exposed for hours at a stretch. The base of the tongue, which stays tucked in the mouth, is pink — exactly the pattern you’d expect if pigment tracks sun exposure.

It’s a good theory, but not 100% accepted. Why? The okapi, the giraffe’s closest relative, has the same dark tongue. But 0kapi live in the dense rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where sunburn is nobody’s problem. So either the trait is inherited from a shared ancestor and hangs on for other reasons, or something else is going on. Scientists are still trying to understand this evolutionary mystery. Perhaps one day, we’ll have a definitive answer.

Asha is putting her tongue to work in the thorn trees along the Khumib River right now.

Follow your giraffe for a full year. Adoptions start at $25.

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What the tongue actually does

The color is the fun part. The engineering is the impressive part.

A giraffe’s dinner is wrapped in thorns. Many of giraffe’s favorite trees defend themselves quite well, and a giraffe’s way of dealing with their defenses is a prehensile tongue that works like a hand — reaching between the spikes, wrapping a branch, and stripping precisely the leaves it wants while leaving the thorns behind. The tongue is covered with thickened bumps called papillae which armor it against punctures. The ridged roof of the mouth does the rest, combing leaves off as the branch pulls through.

It is, in effect, a 50-centimeter/19-inch multi-tool with sun protection.

Fun facts

Longer than a human forearm.
Darker than nearly any mammal tongue on the planet.
In use up to 16–20 hours a day.

Why it matters

The tongue evolved in African woodlands, alongside the trees it was built to outwit — millions of years of one animal and one landscape figuring each other out. Adaptations that specific are one reason it’s important to keep natural habitats intact.

ALL ABOUT GIRAFFE

Amazing Facts, Real Stakes

Here’s the part most people don’t know: Only around 140,000 giraffe remain across all of Africa — their numbers have dropped by almost 30% over the past 35 years — and they’ve vanished entirely from at least seven countries where they once roamed. Three of the four giraffe species are highly threatened. The decline has been so quiet that Sir David Attenborough called it a “silent extinction” — a disappearance the world almost failed to notice.

But there’s real good news, and it’s the kind of good news you can be part of. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation runs the most successful giraffe rewilding program on Earth: translocating wild giraffe from thriving populations into areas where the species had gone locally extinct. More than 300 giraffe have been returned to landscapes they’d lost, and GCF’s conservation work now spans over 110 million acres of habitat across Africa. In many regions, giraffe numbers are climbing again.

The Adopt-a-Giraffe program is an easy and fun way to help — allowing you to be part of our work saving giraffe in the wild, and also giving you the chance to follow a wild giraffe’s journey for a year as they browse, roam, and and live their best best life in their native home.

≈140,000

GIRAFFE LEFT IN AFRICA

COUNTRIES THEY’VE VANISHED FROM

300+

RETURNED TO LOST LANDSCAPES

100M+

ACRES OF HABITAT COVERED

Every June, World Giraffe Day shines a light on the world’s tallest animal — and on the work still ahead.

ADOPT A WILD GIRAFFE

Meet the Giraffe You Can Adopt

These four are real giraffe, monitored by GCF in the wild. Adopt one and you can follow their story for the next year.

Asha

KHUMIB RIVER · NW NAMIBIA

An adult female Angolan giraffe ranging in the Khumib River catchment of northwest Namibia, Asha covers serious ground. Curious and social, she’s usually pushing toward the next stretch of browse with a few friends (and sometimes their calves) alongside her. If there are new places to see, she’s already halfway there.

Dobby

DESERT PLAINS

A young male of the desert plains, Dobby takes long, solitary journeys, mapping the landscape in his head as he goes. His two great loves are Ana trees and hanging out with female giraffe in the area — and he’ll travel quietly for miles to find them.

Ninja

HOARUSIB RIVER MOUNTAINS

Ninja knows every back-route through the steep, rocky mountains around the Hoarusib River. He turns up when you least expect him and slips away just as easily — a steady presence who’s always good for a surprise.

Mae

ETOSHA HEIGHTS RESERVE

Mae moves between the famous Etosha National Park and the adjacent Etosha Heights Private Reserve, and carries herself with a composed, unhurried grace — though there’s a slightly cheeky edge to her that keeps things interesting.

Choose your giraffe

Pick your giraffe, choose your adoption package, and we’ll send you a 12-month journey into the wild. Adoptions start at $25.