An average of 16-20 hours per day are spent feeding and up to 140 lbs of fresh browse are taken. They are ruminants with a 4-chambered stomach. Giraffe form scattered herds, the compositions of which are constantly changing. Although gregarious, the individual is the social unit in giraffe society. Home ranges are large, about 46 sq. miles.
Bulls are non-territorial and exhibit a dominance hierarchy.
Unknown nomadic males may stimulate serious fighting with sledgehammer blows being exchanged, using the side of the head. Dominant males father most of the young. Males become sexually mature at about 42 months but seldom have a chance to breed until 8 or more years old. Females first conceive in their fifth year of age. Gestation is about 15 months.