Spots make giraffes easy to spot in a zoo setting, but it works as a type of camouflage in the wild. They live mostly on African savannahs, full of tall grasses and trees that provide dappled shade. Reticulated giraffes are much more spot than not, with large, “interlocking” spots. Males in particular, have very dark spots, and like most giraffes, get even darker as they age. Cameleopards a bit of a weird word though, so maybe giraffe is easier to remember! The Reticulated giraffe’s coat has large, polygonal, liver-colored spots outlined by a group of bright-white lines. Giraffes have a spotted pattern similar to that of a leopard. Maasai giraffes are tall, with a very dark and distinct pattern of crooked spots that look like vine leaves or distorted stars. The coats are beautiful, and illegal poaching for hides has seen the Maasai population dwindle over the last few decades. It is restricted to the Luangwa Valley in eastern Zambia. But the fur has spots that can be round, oval or blobby, with sharp or smooth edges, and every shape and state of definition in between. Years ago, many people thought the giraffe was a combination of a camel and a leopard, and they called these animals "camel-leopards." Under their fur, giraffes have dark gray skin with no spots at all. The giraffe (camelopardus) is so named because it has the appearance of a camel but the spots of a pard or leopard. This subspecies is not kept in zoos. Giraffes have a small hump on their backs. In a beautiful introduction to the uniqueness of a giraffe's spots, Smith has created large, block-printed spots in natural colors to adorn the end pages. The random spots help them blend in with the moving shade patterns, making … It was first seen in Rome in the Circus put on by Caesar. Reticulated giraffes (another species you might spot in eastern Africa) have large, smooth-edged spots with narrow channels (the name for the creamy area between the spots) between them, giving their coats the look of a perfectly-planned mosaic. It is a reddish color and has white spots, so it is also called camelopard. The Romans called them 'Cameleopards' This is because they looked a bit like camels, but with spots like a leopard! It is so tall in front and so short in back that it looks like it is sitting down. For a long time people called the giraffe a camel-leopard, because they believed that it was a combination of a camel and a leopard. They are caused by a collection of pigment-producing melanocytes in the epidermis of the skin. Giraffe, (genus Giraffa), any of four species in the genus Giraffa of long-necked cud-chewing hoofed mammals of Africa, with long legs and a coat pattern of irregular brown patches on a light background. The spots might indeed be camouflage, but they might also help regulate body temperature and enable giraffes to recognize each other. Giraffe spots are unique. The name café au lait is French for "coffee with milk" and refers to their light-brown color. Giraffes are the tallest of all land animals; males (bulls) may exceed 5.5 metres (18 feet) in height, and the tallest females (cows) are about 4.5 metres. A bit like human fingerprints, no two giraffes have the same spots, making each of theme totally unique! Café au lait spots, or café au lait macules, are flat, pigmented birthmarks. Originating from a peninsula called the Horn of Africa, the Reticulated giraffe is the most common giraffe seen in zoos. This giraffe subspecies is commonly called the Thornicroft Giraffe. It is estimated that fewer than 1,500 remain in the wild. 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