The word giraffe comes from the Arab word meaning "the one that walks very fast".
There is only one species of giraffe. However, there are 9 subspecies, each with a different region in Africa.  Giraffe are the tallest land mammal, 19 feet tall and weigh up to 3,000 pounds.  Their neck alone can be up to 6 feet.

The giraffe's walk is different than any other four legged animal, when it walks it swings both feet on one side at the same time.   They eat about 75 pounds of food per day and can drink 10 gallons of water at a time.

Both males and females have horns like no other animal. Their horns are short and thick cylinder shape and are covered with hair.  They are called ossicones.  The male’s ossicones are generally larger and are most of the time bald on top due to fighting with other males.  As the males get older, they start to develop boney formations on their head that gives the appearance of a third horn ... but it is not a true horn.

  

The giraffe's heart is 2 feet long and weighs a little over 20 pounds. It has to work very hard to maintain enough pressure in the blood system (circulatory system) to keep blood pushed up and circulating through their brain. The giraffe's heart can pump up to 20 gallons of blood per minute.

The species name of the giraffe is camelopardalis.  It is derived from the early Roman name which they described the giraffe ... camel leopard.