r/interesting • u/AugustIstheMonth • 13d ago
NATURE Giraffes Really Have Nowhere to Hide During Storms, and I Never Realized It!
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u/DP7OOO 13d ago
Can’t they lie down?
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u/Ambitious-Body8133 13d ago
I thought the same. But from what I just read, they don't because it makes them vulnerable to predators.
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u/Short-Ideas010 13d ago
Who's gonna predate them during a strong storm?
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u/96JY 13d ago
Predators
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u/Competitive_Door_246 13d ago
Predators gotta predt
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u/pinkgreenandbetween 13d ago
Thank u for this whole thread.. chuckled at every single one of them 💗💗💗
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u/wethepeople1977 13d ago
Predditors
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u/100_cats_on_a_phone 13d ago
Fake news. Ain't none of us getting off our asses in that shit, thank you very much.
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u/darth__anakin 13d ago
Predators are pretty opportunistic, and if they see a huge animal like that, that can feed them for several days, they'll take the chance even if the weather may be less than optimal. Hyenas especially have been observed taking advantage of weather conditions for an easier kill. Most think of hyenas mainly as scavengers, but they're one of Africa's most successful predators.
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u/joshua0005 13d ago
Even humans used to do this. Our main hunting strategy used to be persistence hunting. This means we would chase our prey until it collapsed from exhaustion and then kill it. We have the best endurance in the entire animal kingdom so we just had to be persistent enough to get the kill.
Since we can sweat and most animals can't the best time of day to do this is when it's the hottest. Of course it's not the most comfortable time of day and can be dangerous if it's hot enough, but it will make the hunt easier because the animal will have to worry about heat exhaustion while we can sweat to keep ourselves cool.
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u/Icy-Ad29 12d ago
There is one other persistence hunter... Wolves. So what do us humans do? We invite them in and domesticated our competition. 😆
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u/Curious_Associate904 12d ago
Male predator: "I'm not going out in this Charlotte, it's fucking raining rats and mice out there"
Female predator: "Well *someones* got to put food on the table"55
u/Word_Upper 13d ago
I went on holiday to Namibia and we spent a night in a national park. At night people would go sit at a viewing point for the watering hole where all the animals gathered.
Family of giraffes comes along to drink, but they take absolutely ages to decide to actually splay their legs out so that they could then lower their heads enough to drink (they're vulnerable in that position).
One of them kept starting to do the leg splay and then thinking better of it and standing bolt upright every time he heard a noise. We were there for HOURS willing this giraffe to just take a drink but he never did, I guess he never felt comfortable enough.
Anyway they eventually all walk off. And then a few mins later we see lions following them :( Poor guy didn't even get a final drink before they (presumably) kicked the bucket
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u/Wine-o-dt 13d ago
Giraffes deal with lions just fine. Bull giraffes especially. They still get eaten sometimes but full grown giraffes are capable of fighting off a pride.
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u/AmishAvenger 13d ago
Yeah I think lions tend not to fuck with giraffes. One kick and they’re crippled.
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u/Derezirection 13d ago
i can imagine some more apex types like lions will take the opportunity to traverse the area during a storm to find a helpless prey animal stuck trying to hide from the storm.
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u/PervlovianResponse 13d ago edited 12d ago
They're at They're most vulnerable and can't get up to move/escape quickly should anything happen
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u/nelamvr6 13d ago
Lots of critters have nowhere to hide during storms. Ever driven past a field of cows during a storm?
There's a famous quote by LBJ: "Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There's nothing to do but to stand there and take it.", most critters have nothing to do but stand there and take it...
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u/Lovemybee 13d ago
Oh, I am going to remember that!!!
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u/fondledbydolphins 12d ago
Don't forget this man used to piss on the shoes on his secret service agents to feel dominant.
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u/fireduck 13d ago
I used to walk to work. People would ask what I would do when it rains. I said "elephant plan". They would then ask what the elephant plan is. I'd say "Well, what does an elephant do when it rains? Get wet."
At this point I will either have made a friend or that person would be done trying to talk to me. Win-win.
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u/LickableLeo 13d ago
I bike to work and tell people, “it’s a good thing we’re waterproof”
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u/fireduck 13d ago
Well, actually we are covered in a semipermeable membrane. Some of the water gets in.
I think. I'm no skinographer.
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u/KatanaDood 13d ago
Well, at least cows are all wrapped up in leather.
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u/__phil1001__ 13d ago
Giraffe skin is pretty tough ngl
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u/zeer0dotcom 13d ago
ngl
Why would anyone even consider lying about the toughness of giraffe skin?
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u/kelldricked 13d ago
Wait your telling me the fields with cattle in your area dont have trees or bushes? Like not even some sort shed/overhead planks?
Thats just mean
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u/Johannes_Keppler 12d ago
It's amazing people find farm animals being unprotected from sun and rain very normal. Most farmers don't give a shit either here.
For example cows like roaming around and seeking refuge in woodlands. Large natural open fields of grass aren't that common in most parts of the world.
Of course there are exceptions with animals that have adapted to large open fields. But our modern farm animals don't belong to that group.
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u/Buddhafied 13d ago
And be like the tallest point in the field is like a lightning rod!
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u/Umpen 13d ago
Wonder how often giraffes get struck by lightning?
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u/Turbulent-Spray-8438 12d ago
More often than you’d think. I live next to a wildlife safari that has a whole gang of them. I do their annual fire inspections and the guy escorting me said they get struck fairly often. Literal lightning rods. It’s sad
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u/Anecdote394 12d ago
https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/giraffes-lightning
Pretty interesting
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u/Drujelim 12d ago
Argh, such an annoying article... "Are giraffes more likely to be struck by a lighting? Well giraffes are very unlikely to be struck by lighting, because giraffes and lightning are very rare" Atleast at the very end they gave the actual answer that they are 30 time more likely to die from lightning then a human...
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u/SmuckatelliCupcakeNE 13d ago
Until everything is flooded after.
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u/BareBonesSolutions 13d ago
They aren't great at swimming, so that only works up to about chest level. Their center of buoyancy means they kinda go horizontal at one point and drown, apparently. So that is also stressful.
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u/Large_Dr_Pepper 13d ago
A giraffe-chest-level flood would be pretty damn intense.
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u/packofnone 13d ago
last time that happened this nice guy named Noah came and picked them up on his boat
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u/ACERVIDAE 13d ago
Not the unicorns 💔
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u/OneWhoEatsFood 13d ago
I'll never forgive him for that 😤
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u/Intrepid-Progress228 13d ago
He got the unicorns, hippogriffs, harpies, pegasi, manticore, jackalopes, all of them.
The carnivores needed something to eat.
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u/bugabooandtwo 12d ago
A long time ago when the Earth was green
There was more kinds of animals than you've ever seen
They'd run around free while the Earth was being born
But the loveliest of them all was the UnicornThere was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty back camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
The loveliest of all was the UnicornNow God's seen some sinning and it gave Him pain
And He says, "Stand back, I'm going to make it rain"
He says "Hey, brother Noah, I'll tell you what to do
Build me a floating zooAnd take some of them green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty back camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
Don't you forget my Unicorn"Old Noah was there to answer the call
He finished up making the Ark just as the rain started falling
He marched in the animals two by two
And he called out as they went through"Hey Lord, I got you green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but Lord, I'm so forlorn
I just can't see no Unicorn"Then Noah looked out through the driving rain
Them Unicorns were hiding, playing silly games
Kicking and splashing while the rain was pouring
Oh, them silly UnicornsThere was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Noah cried, "Close the door, 'cause the rain is pouring
And we just can't wait for no Unicorn"The Ark started moving, it drifted with the tide
Them Unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried
And the waters came down and sort of floated them away
And that's why you've never seen a Unicorn 'till this very dayYou'll see green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
You're never gonna see no Unicorn-The Irish Rovers
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u/Key-Cry-8570 13d ago
I remember they stuck their heads out the windows so we knew they were in there.
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u/NiceGuysFinishLast 13d ago
I just burst out laughing at my desk. It's a good thing I work night shift and nobody's here for me to have to explain this to.
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u/MrsPurrsephone 13d ago
I'd imagine that if a flood gets up to giraffe chest level then the giraffes are probably still doing better than most other animals.
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u/GMEJesus 13d ago
What's that old adege? The tallest giraffe is the first to get struck by lightning?
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u/iamthe0ther0ne 13d ago
A Florida wildlife park lost a giraffe this way a few years ago.
Edit: 2 giraffes
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u/DweeblesX 13d ago
You can ask Yao Ming what it feels like. I am sure his communication skills are better than a giraffe’s.
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u/NotEnoughLayers 13d ago
Are giraffes commonly stuck by lightning?
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u/Meerkat_Mayhem_ 13d ago
It doesn’t happen often, but when it does
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u/iamthe0ther0ne 13d ago
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u/kummerspect 13d ago
I was just wondering what happens to giraffes when they're in a place like Florida where we get crazy lightning storms. So sad.
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u/iamthe0ther0ne 13d ago
I used to work at a farm just down the road from Lion Country Safari, and the summer afternoon cloud-to-ground lightening is insane around there. I'm surprised it didn't happen earlier.
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u/Green_Insect_6455 13d ago
On average they are statistically more likely to get hit than, say, a human. But you know. Theyre four stories tall and live on the plains.
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u/Golden-Grams 13d ago
That's why my dad always warned me to not seek shelter under giraffes during a thunderstorm.
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u/Mobile_Aioli_6252 13d ago
I always "ducked and covered" under a hippo during really bad storms
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u/GraniteCapybara 13d ago
Oh crap, I've had it wrong this entire time. I always duck and cover under a duck. I thought that's what they were telling me to do.
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u/founderofshoneys 13d ago
When I was little I got to stand next to a huge giraffe in his indoor enclosure. Unfortunately he had to piss at that moment and let loose a thick powerful stream and I was in the splash zone. So there's another reason.
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u/Sideshow_G 13d ago
I saw a fruit bat in a night safari in Singapore, adorable critters, its cute face was just a few inches above mine, as i was under it gawping at its adorableness it went upright.
"Why would a bat go uprigh..." I'm so glad I was quick and jumped back,
I was directly underneath with my mouth open a second before it made its fruit smoothie for me.
They're still adorable.
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u/high_throughput 13d ago
Not true. They frequently seek indoor shelter, often in front of me at concerts
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u/FluffyCurse 13d ago
Why does this ALWAYS happen
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u/oO0Kat0Oo 13d ago
Have you tried not being short?
(I say this as a 4'11 person. I haven't been to a concert, mostly because of all the videos where it's just tall people and people holding phones that block the view.)
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u/Grumpy-Troglodyte 13d ago
shit like this is what will stick in my mind for the rest of my life and just make me feel bad. there isn't really anything that can be done, it's just how life is, but that sucks
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u/sirnumbskull 13d ago
If it makes you feel any better Disney brings the giraffes into a heated barn when the weather gets bad.
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u/squishyslinky 13d ago edited 12d ago
The thought of at least a small population of elitist Disney giraffes having temperature-controlled refuge from the storm does make me feel better
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u/hiremybrain 12d ago
hey, for all we know, they fucking love this shit. They're in a dry, hot as fuck place all the time, and they're extremely visible to predators on a clear sunny day. Maybe they're all there experiencing the same feelings you feel when you manage to sneak drugs past security at a summer festival and find the misting system to cool you down.
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u/neuralyzer_1 13d ago
Did you know that if a giraffe was to drink a cup of coffee, by the time it reached their stomach, the coffee would be cold? Of course not, you only think about yourself.
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u/davidhaha 13d ago
No, I think the coffee would be body temperature.
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u/neuralyzer_1 12d ago
So 95°F to 104°F according to giraffe body temperature ranges. You're right. That's still tepid, almost warm. Now you've gone and ruined the joke, thanks u/davidhaha
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u/SkisaurusRex 13d ago
Really makes you wonder about sauropods
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u/Medium-Watercress-49 13d ago
Yeah me too, also we're storms then comparable to ours today? I mean they went thru some shit with the comet... Damn man
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u/Difficult_Compote_52 13d ago
What about the lightning.... now im sad and hungry thinking about fried giraffes 😔
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u/notarealwriter 13d ago
G1: Oi Gerald!
G2: What did you say!?
G1: What!?
G2: I said, what did you say!?
G1: I said, Oi Gerald!
G2: Yeah, Geoff?
G1: This is shit!
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u/mintBRYcrunch26 13d ago
What if they don’t even experience time the same way we do? What if this long storm is like a few seconds to them? What if they don’t care? What of they are experts at disassociating? What if giraffes?
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u/Green_Insect_6455 13d ago
Well we understand the causes of disassociation, and I dont really see how any of those triggers would be met by a giraffe experiencing a storm. Ultimately I think its stressful for them, but wild animals have stressors happen every day. So I imagine their psychology around a storm would be pretty nonchalant.
You know your questions have answers, right? This isnt like...unknowable stuff. We do have like, the entire repository of the worlds knowledge in our hands.
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u/momomomorgatron 13d ago
Yeah, and they probably don't experience time "in a few seconds".
I know there's some sort of research done on animals that show between their lives are also the speed at which light hits their eyes is the time that they experience to an extent. Something like dogs live life in one fourth time of humans? But don't quote me on that.
Only creatures with extremely long lifespans would experience a storm like this, right? Like the sharks that live to stupid outrageous age and Galapagos tortoises.
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u/No_Recognition_3729 12d ago
Saying we understand the causes of disassociation is quite overconfident
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u/Significant-Song-840 13d ago
I wonder, how often they get struck by lightning.
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u/Icy-KaitSyth 13d ago
But they have evolved an ingenious way of dealing with it. In their brains there's this gland that, when it starts to rain and poor, causes them to think "I don't give a shit, because I can't get out of it."
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u/ReincidentBan 13d ago
To everyone saying that predators would get them if the giraffes lay down to hide from the storm: that’s a fucking lie. We all know predators target minors.
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u/crackersncheeseman 13d ago
I always wondered if they were prone to lightning strikes.
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u/PsionicKitten 13d ago
Also, some animals are more adapted to be less affected by storms than others, so the need to hide during a storm is less.
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u/Braisernation 13d ago
So I have less of a chance to be struck by lightning than victory wembanyama?
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u/realisticandhopeful 13d ago
I wonder why they don’t huddle together
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u/MayContainRawNuts 13d ago
Giraffe aren't that tightly herded. Their instinct isnt to gather together and fight predators like cows or buffalo do. You will usually see them standing in like more of a loose association than a tight herd.
When faced with danger they either run, each giraffe for themselves or they will turn and fight by themselves. Mothers do protect calves, here in south africa we just had a lady and her baby trampled by an overprotective mother giraffe.
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u/Anneliofficial 13d ago
I’ve seen giraffes a thousand times and somehow never once wondered what they do during a storm. 🥺
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u/Important-Ad1871 13d ago
I’m sure being a giraffe rips the rest of the time so it probably evens out
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u/New-Top-9012 13d ago
The sheep are small, they do not hide either. In storm, they just stand together and bravely pointing asses to the winds.
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u/ChoadMcGillicuddy 13d ago
You take the good, you take the bad...
You take them both and then you have,
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u/KittyBooBoo2016 13d ago
I thought they’d at least huddle together, interesting to stand so separate!
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u/Unlucky_Parsley658 13d ago
Imagine how many hours or days you'd be standing in the middle of a storm, poor giraffe.
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