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A family of giraffe seen in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.
Giraffes are non-territorial, social animals. They travel in large herds that are not organized in any way. Herds may consist of any combination of sexes or ages.
Female giraffes typically give birth to one calf after a fifteen-month gestation period. During the first week of its life, the mother carefully guards her calf. Young giraffes are very vulnerable and cannot defend themselves. While mothers feed, the young are kept in small nursery groups.
For the first few weeks the calf remains hidden in the shade with the mother returning to it, and later it joins a creche. Calves grow fast, and are weaned at 18 months, although they start eating solids well before then. | 
