It's a rough start if you are a baby giraffe!

Giraffe no 2 Mixed Media on Wood Panel by Kerrie Woodhouse

It amazes me how graceful a giraffe is with that long neck and spindly legs that seem to go on forever. It seems to me that having these attributes could actually be a bit awkward.

It certainly makes it interesting when a baby giraffe is born. The mother giraffe gives birth standing up. When you consider that a mother giraffe can be as tall as up to about 6 metres (20 feet), those baby giraffes get a pretty rough start to life!

After a 15 month gestation period, the baby giraffe (calf) commences life with a fall to the ground of almost 2 metres. No matter... within the hour the baby giraffe is usually up and about. A giraffe calf can run 10 hours after birth. Rather impressive.

A giraffe calf weighs around 100 kilograms and is about 2 metres tall at birth. This height will be doubled in the first year. Calves stay with their mothers until they are 15-18 months old.