How tall is a giraffe? An adult male stands up to 5.5 m (18 ft) tall, and a female up to 4.3 m (14 ft), says San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. That makes the giraffe the tallest animal alive. Even a newborn calf is about 1.8 m (6 ft), taller than most grown-up people.
A giraffe’s height comes in three roughly equal parts. Its legs are about 1.8 m (6 ft) long, and its neck is another 1.8 m (6 ft). The body and head make up the rest. Heights are usually measured to the top of the ossicones, the two furry horn-like knobs on the head.
Giraffe height: males, females and calves
| Measurement | Adult male | Adult female | Newborn calf | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Height | Up to 5.5 m (18 ft) | Up to 4.3 m (14 ft) | About 1.8 m (6 ft) | SDZWA |
| Weight | Up to 1,360 kg (3,000 lb) | Up to 680 kg (1,500 lb) | 45–100 kg (100–220 lb) | SDZWA |
| Neck length | About 1.8 m (6 ft), weighing about 272 kg (600 lb) | Not given | SDZWA | |
| Leg length | About 1.8 m (6 ft) | Not given | SDZWA | |
| Tallest ever | 5.8 m (19 ft), George, 1960s | No record published | Not applicable | Guinness |
| Tallest living (verified 2019) | 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in), Forest | No record published | Not applicable | Guinness |
These are top-end figures, not averages. Many adult males are shorter than 5.5 m, and giraffes from different regions vary in size. We could not find a published average height for wild giraffes, so treat “up to” figures as the upper end of normal.
How tall is a male giraffe?
Males, called bulls, are the giants. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives them up to 5.5 m (18 ft) and up to 1,360 kg (3,000 lb). That is about as heavy as a small car. Older bulls keep putting on weight, and their skulls grow extra bony lumps. A heavier head helps in fights.
Bulls fight by swinging their necks and clubbing each other with their heads. This is called necking. A taller, heavier bull usually wins, so extra height is an advantage in finding a mate as well as in finding food.
How tall is a female giraffe?
Females, called cows, reach up to 4.3 m (14 ft) and up to 680 kg (1,500 lb). That makes them about 1.2 m (4 ft) shorter and around half the weight of the biggest males. A female is still tall enough to look into a second-floor window.
You can often tell the sexes apart by their ossicones. Females and young giraffes usually have thin ossicones with tufts of hair on top. Adult males often wear the hair off in fights, so their ossicones look bald and thick.
How tall is a baby giraffe?
A calf is born about 1.8 m (6 ft) tall, says San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. It weighs 45 to 100 kg (100 to 220 lb). Its mother gives birth standing up, after a pregnancy of about 14 months, so the calf’s first moment outside is a drop to the ground.
Calves grow fast. Giraffes reach adulthood at about 3 to 5 years old, according to the zoo. A 6 ft newborn is already taller than the average American man, who is 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) tall, according to the CDC.
What is the tallest giraffe ever recorded?
The record belongs to George, a Masai bull who came to Chester Zoo in England from Kenya in January 1959. Guinness World Records says he stood 5.8 m (19 ft). His ossicones almost grazed the roof of the 6.1 m (20 ft) giraffe house. George died in July 1969.
The tallest living giraffe on record is Forest, a male at Australia Zoo in Queensland. Guinness measured him at 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) to the top of his ossicones in December 2019. Zoo staff fixed a marked pole next to his hay feeder and filmed him for months to get the measurement.
Wild giraffes are never measured this way, so a taller bull may be out there somewhere. The records above are simply the tallest anyone has checked.
How tall is a giraffe compared to a human?
A 5.5 m bull is more than three times as tall as a 175 cm man. Put three average men on each other’s shoulders and they would still fall short of his head. His legs alone, at 1.8 m, are taller than that man.
A few more comparisons help. A standard basketball hoop is 3.05 m (10 ft) high, so a big bull could look down on it. A double-decker bus is about 4.4 m (14.4 ft) tall, so an adult female is about the same height.
How long is a giraffe’s neck?
About 1.8 m (6 ft), and it weighs about 272 kg (600 lb), says San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Yet it has only seven bones, the same number as your neck. Each giraffe neck bone is over 25 cm (10 in) long.
Other body parts are giant too. The tongue is about 46 cm (18 in) long. The heart is about 60 cm (2 ft) long and weighs about 11 kg (25 lb), and the feet are about 30 cm (12 in) across. A giraffe needs that big heart to push blood all the way up to its head. Our page on giraffe adaptations explains how.
Why are giraffes so tall?
Height lets giraffes eat leaves that other plant-eaters can’t reach. An adult can eat up to 34 kg (75 lb) of food a day, the zoo says, and much of it comes from treetops like acacias. A tall giraffe also sees lions coming from far away. Read what eats lions to see why even lions stay careful around a kicking giraffe.
Being tall has costs. A giraffe must spread its front legs wide to drink, which leaves it open to attack. Giraffes also sleep only 5 to 30 minutes in 24 hours, according to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Their closest living relative, the okapi, has a much shorter neck and lives in forest. Wild giraffe numbers are covered in how many giraffes are left.
Quick facts: giraffe height
- Adult male: up to 5.5 m (18 ft).
- Adult female: up to 4.3 m (14 ft).
- Newborn calf: about 1.8 m (6 ft).
- Tallest ever: George, 5.8 m (19 ft).
- Neck and legs: about 1.8 m (6 ft) each.
Frequently asked questions
Is a giraffe 20 feet tall?
Almost never. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives adult males up to 18 ft (5.5 m). The tallest giraffe ever recorded, George at Chester Zoo, stood 19 ft (5.8 m), according to Guinness World Records. No measured giraffe has reached 20 ft (6.1 m).
How tall is a giraffe in metres?
Adult males reach up to 5.5 m and adult females up to 4.3 m, says San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. A newborn calf is about 1.8 m. The record is 5.8 m, set by a Masai bull called George in the 1960s.
How much does a giraffe weigh?
Males weigh up to 1,360 kg (3,000 lb) and females up to 680 kg (1,500 lb), according to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. The neck alone weighs about 272 kg (600 lb). A newborn calf weighs 45 to 100 kg (100 to 220 lb).
Is a giraffe the tallest animal in the world?
Yes. No other living animal comes close. The tallest land animal after the giraffe is the African elephant, which is far shorter. Even a female giraffe at 4.3 m (14 ft) is taller than any elephant's shoulder.
When do giraffes stop growing?
Giraffes become adults at about 3 to 5 years old, according to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Males can keep adding weight after that, especially on the head and neck, which they use as clubs when fighting other males.
Sources
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Giraffe.
- Guinness World Records. Tallest giraffe ever.
- Guinness World Records (2019). Tallest giraffe living.
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics. FastStats: body measurements (2021–2023 data).
Sources checked 15 September 2026.
About 25 years ago, I had the pleasure to hand-feed a young giraffe. I lined up with the kids at an open zoo.
I was in my mid 40s at the time, but I didn’t care if anyone laughed at me, it was such a great experience to even get that close to such a magnificent animal.