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Environment

Think Giraffes Are Peaceful Creatures? Wait Until You See Them Brawl in This Rare Footage

Dec. 31, 2012 10:14am Liz Klimas

As is the case with many fights among male animals, there is usually a woman involved. And while giraffes might be the last animal you would consider to resort to violence with each other, they too are willing to go into battle to protect their territory.

It’s rare to catch a giraffe fight on film, but Discovery Channel uses it in its teaser for its show “Africa,” which airs January 8.

The camera angle shows a close up of one of the males slowly turning his head to eye his oncoming adversary. Another camera shot to the sound of the spurs closes in on the hooves of the second male.

“A young gun sidles into town looking to stake his claim,” the narrator says.

Giraffes Fight With Necks in Discovery Channel Africa Preview

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

“Most of the time, they’re gentle vegetarians,” he continued.

But then the neck whipping begins. The narrator states that the giraffes necks can reach more than six feet long and weigh more than 600 pounds.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

Watch the fight for yourself (Note: The action begins at 1:34 but the dramatic lead up is worth it too):

Here’s the preview for “Africa,” which was four years in the making:

(H/T: io9)

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Comments (25)

realist87
Posted on January 2, 2013 at 9:14am
I saw this footage on a BBC TV show 3 years ago, with voiceover… really funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=f-Kt_kuYVtU#t=115s

or you can watch the whole thing here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Kt_kuYVtU

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cmonnow
Posted on January 1, 2013 at 11:43pm
I saw this in person in Tanzania on safari. Both calm and incredibly violent. Pretty surreal.

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Chrisrob63
Posted on January 1, 2013 at 11:23pm
Oh, yeah, I remember watching Wild Kingdom or Animal World as a kid and seeing them sling their necks. Every animal has its own defense mechanism. It might not seem like much; I certainly would not want to be hit by one.

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ronin_6
Posted on January 1, 2013 at 4:02pm
There is some amazing video of Giraffes fighting and killing lions, and hyenas on you tube. Pretty impressive.

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Ruckus_Tom
Posted on January 1, 2013 at 3:49pm
There was a National Geographic repeat on tv in the last week or so with a pretty good giraffe fight. It only ended when one of the boys smacked to other one with a wicked knockout punch to the back head with a mean left horn.

The defeated giraffe took one step back and looked up at the tweeter birds flying around his head before folding up like a house of cards. He was out cold for about 20 minutes. I figured the victor would proceed to stomp him into a big pile of pink goo or he’d get eaten alive by some wandering hyena, but he eventually got up and stumbled away.

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TickleMyPickle
Posted on January 1, 2013 at 7:15am
Ban horns on all animals. Horns can be deadly and should be taken away from all animals. Cause everyone knows that it’s the horns that can kill, not the creatures that own the horns.

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MisterSarcastic
Posted on January 1, 2013 at 2:45am
Giraffes are a cross between camels and NBA centers.

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karen162
Posted on December 31, 2012 at 4:45pm
Looked to me like they were just getting the dust off each other. :-)

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- Salamander
  Posted on January 1, 2013 at 11:29am
  Gosh, they’d be better rug-beaters than camels!
  
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Mudd
Posted on December 31, 2012 at 1:56pm
There are no peaceful animals. Many kill other animals for food and the ones that don’t kill others beat up their own kind in mating rituals. Contrary to popular belief, humans are some of the most peaceful. At least we’re capable of being peaceful even when our instincts tell us to lash out.

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- shorelineliz
  Posted on December 31, 2012 at 2:34pm
  Yeah. It’s all Bush’s fault. As everyone knows and it is common knowledge and a historical fact that ALL Republicans are haters, racists and war mongers while ALL Democrats are peaceful hippies who just want to get along and smoke a doobie on Haight Ashbury all day long. :-)
  
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- Balpit
  Posted on December 31, 2012 at 4:39pm
  They say that only humans engage in warfare. But chimps will form gangs with the intent to hunt down and kill members of other gangs.
  
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ArmedAndReallyPissed
Posted on December 31, 2012 at 12:49pm
It’s all Bush’s fault.

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nocommie
Posted on December 31, 2012 at 11:31am
Africa is a very violent place.I wonder why such an attitude? Seems like some people have the same….

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- Gorp
  Posted on December 31, 2012 at 12:55pm
  It’s the heat and the lack of meaningful jobs.
  
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Priscilla King
Posted on December 31, 2012 at 10:36am
So that’s what a giraffe’s face looks like when it’s ticked off!

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Cavallo
Posted on December 31, 2012 at 10:28am
Is this a Surprising and Shocking Epic Devastating battle? Is it Ultimate or Extreme?

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- salvawhoray
  Posted on December 31, 2012 at 10:36am
  Epic???????????????????????
  Please look up the word because it does not fit here along with 98% of the time people use it.
  
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- Cavallo
  Posted on December 31, 2012 at 11:00am
  That was my point. The over the top buzzwords that the Blaze uses or at least copies from other “journalists”. I’ll try and remember to use [sarc] tags though.
  
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- IndyGuy
  Posted on December 31, 2012 at 11:49am
  Anything with horns can be dangerous…Including an orchestra…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5K-A41WvZA
  
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- Ballot_Box_Revolution
  Posted on December 31, 2012 at 7:21pm
  Epic now has an urban definition that is in the same category as “Heavy”, “Far out”…these things happen….I have mixed feelings about it….lol…
  
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RepubliCorp
Posted on December 31, 2012 at 10:24am
The NRA made them violent

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- cmonnow
  Posted on January 1, 2013 at 11:41pm
  ^ bravo !! coming here to make moronic comments completely unrelated to anything makes you a true Blazer.
  
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woodyee
Posted on December 31, 2012 at 10:24am
Man, if your girlfriend looked like that, you’d fight too!

Wow! Could explain all the armament on some of the dinosaurs heads.

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- Salamander
  Posted on January 1, 2013 at 11:31am
  Yeah, fight to get away, that even beats ‘Coyote Ugly’!
  
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