How do you tell the difference between a male giraffe and a female giraffe?

Here is a picture of a male:And here is a picture of a female:See the difference? No? Try clicking on the pictures to get a larger version
What? You still don't see it? But it is so.... so... obvious! Look at the pictures again, I'll give you a hint: look up, not down.
Give up? OK, I'll let you in on the secret: Here is larger picture of a male.(Click on the picture to see a bigger version, if you need one). Look at the horns on his head. Technically they are not horns, they're called ossicones. Note that they are covered with hair except at the tips. The tip is bald. That is because when the males get horny they use their horns...errr ossicones to establish dominance (and therefore access to breeding females). So the hairs get worn down. Females, on the other hand, don't fight so often so the hairs on their ossicones grow longer. So you can see from quite far that the female has black tufts on her ossicones whereas the males tend to have bald tips.

In this picture you can see a mother and son. Both have got black hairs on their ossicones. That is because the youngster is still a bit too young to get involved in mating.
Notice that some of the giraffes have light brown spots and some have dark brown spots. There is only one species of giraffe, but there are several subspecies. The darker giraffes are a Kenyan subspecies.
I have a soft spot for giraffes. They're so peaceful and graceful. It's also interesting to note that giraffes chew the cud and have split hooves, so they are 100% kosher.Giraffes have very high blood pressure. Well, they have to don't they? Otherwise how could they pump blood up 2 metres of neck to get to their brains. They have a sort of sponge-y bone in their chest that acts to reduce the blood pressure when they bend their necks to drink or whatever. Did you know that giraffes are the only animals that need less water than camels?

How not to be seen

This giraffe has definitely learned the value of not being seen...
See more giraffe pictures here

Next: What do you call a group of zebras?