Giraffa camelopardalis (Giraffe)

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is the world's tallest land mammal, with an exceptionally long neck and legs that allow it to browse vegetation inaccessible to other herbivores. In the savannas of East Africa, giraffes are specialist feeders on acacia trees, using their prehensile tongues to strip leaves and seed pods from thorny branches. Tsavo East National Park, one of Kenya's largest protected areas, provides critical habitat for giraffes across its expansive grassland and acacia woodland landscape. The species ranges widely across sub-Saharan Africa's savannas and open woodlands, where it plays an important role in shaping vegetation structure through its browsing habits.