What Happens To Leaves Inside A Giraffe’S Mouth

Giraffes are nature’s tallest mammals, reaching heights of up to 20 feet. Their height allows them to feast on the leaves and buds located on the upper branches of trees that other animals cannot reach.

But have you ever wondered what exactly happens when giraffes begin chewing on those leaves inside their mouths?

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: Giraffes use their tough, durable tongues and strong molars to grind leaves into a pulp before swallowing.

Anatomy of a Giraffe’s Mouth

Lips and Tongue

A giraffe’s lips are extraordinarily prehensile and dexterous. Their long black tongues (which can extend up to 20 inches!) are perfectly adapted for grabbing and manipulating leaves and branches before pulling them into their mouths.

The lips have thick fibro-elastic papillae to protect against thorns when foraging. When browsing for leaves, giraffes use their tongues to wrap around branches and strip off the leaves, buds and shoots. They have particularly tough palates to deal with coarse vegetation.

The upper lip splits into two lobes which helps them grab foliage more efficiently. Their tongues have a thick, purple-black coating which protects against sunburn while foraging for hours under the hot African sun.

Teeth and Jaw Structure

Adult giraffes have 32 teeth, like humans. They have a dental formula of 0/3 incisors, 0/1 canines, 3/3 premolars, and 3/3 large molars in each jaw half. The incisors are used for grasping food. The premolars and molars then grind and chew the vegetation.

Their molars have incredibly high crowns which gives them extra grinding power. A giraffe’s lower jaw pivots laterally to assist in grinding. Interestingly, a giraffe’s upper and lower jaws move vertically to chew, unlike cows and deer whose jaws move side to side.

While grazing, giraffes swallow their food almost unchewed. Later, while resting, they regurgitate the semi-digested cud back up into their mouths and chew it thoroughly before swallowing again. This is known as rumination.

Amazingly, a giraffe’s mouth and tongue, in combination with its specialized cardiovascular system, allows it to efficiently gain nourishment from nutrient-poor vegetation other herbivores cannot digest.

Their incredible physiology makes them perfectly adapted to thrive in the harsh African savannah.

Chewing Process and Saliva

Chewing Movement

Giraffes have a unique chewing motion that is perfectly adapted to their specialized diet of tree leaves and twigs. Their large, flat molars move sideways to grind up the fibrous vegetation (1). This side-to-side motion is very different from the circular chewing pattern of cattle or other grazing animals.

Studies show that giraffes spend up to 16 hours per day chewing and swallowing leaves, processing huge quantities to obtain enough nutrients (2).

The giraffe’s chewing cycle has four main stages, according to research (3):

• food intake and initial chewing
• chewing while holding food in mouth
• brief pause before swallowing
• final chewing motions and swallowing

This full cycle is repeated up to 120 times per day. With such frequent chewing over many hours, it’s no wonder their jaw and neck muscles are so powerful!

Saliva Composition

Giraffes produce copious amounts of thick, sticky saliva that coats each mouthful of vegetation. Studies have identified over 30 different proteins and compounds in giraffe saliva (4). The saliva contains enzymes like lysozyme that help break down cell walls in the leaves.

It also includes tannin-binding proteins that counter the tannins and phenols in acacia leaves, reducing bitterness and making the food more palatable.

Interestingly, giraffe saliva includes antimicrobial substances that prevent growth of bacteria during the chewing process (5). The saliva also contains high calcium and magnesium concentrations which may fortify the teeth or neutralize toxins in some plant species (6).

Due to the unique composition, a single mouthful of leaves is thoroughly lubricated and partially digested by the saliva before the giraffe swallows.

Swallowing and Digestion

Giraffes have a remarkable process for swallowing and digesting leaves. When a giraffe grabs a mouthful of leaves off an acacia tree, the leaves are shredded and pulped in its mouth before being swallowed.

Giraffes have very tough tongues covered in bristly structures called filiform papillae, which help to grind and mash up the leaves. Saliva is added and the leaves are formed into a ball called a bolus. The bolus is swallowed and passes down the esophagus on the way to the stomach.

Stomach Chambers and Digestion

The giraffe’s stomach has four chambers, allowing a specialized digestive process to extract as many nutrients as possible from the pulped leaves. The first chamber is the rumen, which has bacteria and protists that begin breaking down cellulose.

The bolus then moves to the reticulum where small objects are trapped and broken down further. In the omasum water is absorbed from the digesta before it moves into the abomasum. The abomasum is the giraffe’s “true stomach” which secretes acid and digestive enzymes.

From start to finish, the digesta takes around 48 hours to pass through a giraffe’s digestive system.

This four-chambered stomach allows giraffes to extract nutrients and proteins from their leafy diet. Compared to similar-sized grazing animals like cattle, giraffes require less food because their digestive system is so efficient at gaining nutrition from browse.

This helps giraffes survive on the sparse vegetation of the African savannas.

Some fascinating facts about giraffe digestion:

• A giraffe eats over 110 pounds of leafy material each day.
• Their 20-inch long tongue helps them forage leaves efficiently.
• Special valves seal off the rumen when the giraffe lowers its head to drink, preventing fluid from entering the rumen.
• The protein-rich bacteria in the rumen provides protein and B vitamins to the giraffe host.

The giraffe’s specialized digestive system allows it to gain sustenance from plant materials that most other animals cannot digest. Their amazing adaption for eating leaves allows them to thrive in the harsh African habitat where they live. 🦒

Conclusion

A giraffe’s specialized mouth allows it to consume large amounts of leaves everyday. Its long tongue grabs foliage, while its sturdy teeth grind leaves into a pulp. Saliva helps to break down plants, and a partitioned stomach supports digestion.

Next time you see a giraffe munching on leaves, remember the unique anatomical features that make this possible.