I have a report due tomorrow, so let's talk about how giraffes sleep (or don't):
1. Giraffes in the wild sleep ~30 minutes per night, on average, the least of any vertebrate not attending college.
2. They sleep standing up as adults, head on rump as younglings.
3. Giraffes in captivity are observed to spend 4.6 hrs a day sleeping, but mostly as "paradoxical sleep", a trance-like state with distinctive head positioning.
4. T he evolutionary advantage of vigilance is obvious to a prey animal, but it's not clear what mechanisms allow them to deal with the stress of not sleep cycling.
5. Free business idea for budding entrepreneurs:
"Giraffe coffee, for when you want to sleep only 30 minutes a day."
Alternatively, "coffee for giraffes". Those guys need it.
My first thought goes to the same reasons “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers”
Avg lifespan of a Giraffe is 25 years old and I knew a few 25 year olds who got that much sleep on average.
And long tongues with no capillaries on the surface due to eating spikes of the acacia trees. AND melanin on said tongue for sunscreen due to having to 👅 out so frequently in a sunny climate. AND they’ll delay delivery if a pregnancy happens during hard times (dry, predators, etc)
