Giraffes are one of the most exciting animals, and it’s due to their staggering height. As the tallest animal in the world, it’ll make you feel that awe in a safari as they graze in the tallest trees around. Still, you may wonder if they would also eat what other animals would, bananas, for example. Thus, you may ask:
Do Giraffes eat bananas? Giraffes do eat bananas, but not as much as any other animals would. These tall animals eat and prefer tree leaves from acacia trees more. However, if they find available fruits like bananas, they won’t say no to them. If you see a giraffe and have a banana to spare, you may offer it.
Giraffes are fascinating animals, and it’s incredible to think they also eat fruits like the ones we usually enjoy. However, there’s more to their diet than just having some banana treats.
In this article, we’ll give you an explanation about bananas and how giraffes take such a kind of fruit. This way, you’ll understand if it’s ideal for you to offer such, or if you should keep it to yourself and allow the giraffe to find its food.
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
Can giraffes eat bananas?
The short answer is yes; giraffes can eat bananas. Giraffes are ruminant animals like cows, which means they have similar digestive processes. It also means they have similar dietary requirements.
The first thing to note is that giraffes have leafy food as their primary diet source.
Thus, you may find these tall animals prefer leaves to offer fruits in both the wild and captivity. However, it doesn’t mean they would say no to fruits such as bananas.
Like other animals, giraffes adjust their diet to whatever they find available. Since they eat a large amount of food per day, the question isn’t “which one they should eat?”. Instead, the question is, “where would they find something to eat?”
Thus, these animals will eat any fruit and leaf they find on trees. In short, they don’t usually eat bananas, but they will if those fruits are available.
Zookeepers feed giraffes hay, but they also allow guests to offer fruits such as bananas.
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Can giraffes eat banana peels?
Since giraffes are ruminants, they won’t find it difficult to digest even the banana peels. Thus, they can eat such and won’t have any issue.
As I said earlier, being ruminant animals make them capable of digesting fiber-rich foods such as grass, hay, and leaves. Thus, they won’t find it challenging to eat the peels of bananas.
Some animals are sensitive enough that you shouldn’t feed a banana with peels still intact.
However, for giraffes, the banana peels would even add to the amount of food they eat.
Since giraffes need a lot of food for the day, they won’t mind eating even the banana peels.
A whole bunch of bananas with peels would be a great treat for them. Thus, if you have a banana to spare, you don’t have to peel it for these animals, as they can eat it whole without problems.
How many bananas can giraffes eat?
Giraffes are enormous animals, and with such a build, they need a large amount of food for each day.
In general, giraffes can eat around 60-80 pounds of food per day. With such a large amount of food, they spend their day munching on every leaf and fruit they find.
Thus, they can eat pounds of bananas per day, and they likely won’t find it enough.
If you have a banana to spare, it’s more like a simple fruit treat for these animals since it won’t take much of their diet.
A giraffe’s favorite food is acacia, a genus of shrubs and trees common in safaris. Thus, it’s also what zookeepers feed in the giraffes in their area.
If they can find such food, they can also eat other fruits aside from bananas. They can also eat seeds, herbs, and hundreds of other types of plants.
Can you offer bananas to a giraffe on safari?
If you’re on a Safari trip, feeding the animals is one of the exciting parts. If you have bananas to spare, you can offer them to a giraffe, and they will surely take such.
Giraffes can eat a variety of fruits and even vegetables since they are ruminant animals. Thus, they can eat bananas offered to them.
Of course, you should only do so with the permission of your safari guide.
They would likely give you instructions on what to do and how to offer food to the animals.
It would be best if you did as your guide says not to harm or scare the animals. It’s also essential so as not to put you in danger.
What other fruit do giraffes eat?
Now, since you can feed bananas to giraffes, you may wonder what other fruits giraffes eat.
In general, giraffes do eat almost all kinds of fruits. One thing to keep in mind is that fruits aren’t their primary source of diet.
Further, these tall animals would do better if they eat fiber-rich food such as hay and acacia leaves.
Giraffes are constantly moving to search for food, so they usually don’t stay in a single spot or area.
Thus, they would likely take your offer if it’s a bunch or more. Of course, giraffes won’t say no to any food you offer, but having a bunch gives you a better chance.
As a general rule of thumb, you may offer almost any kind of fruit such as watermelons, bananas, apples, apricots, and others.
They also find it helpful to eat water-rich food since they don’t drink much due to their height and the danger of bending down. Thus, it’s also ideal for you to get fruits that are excellent sources of water.
Related: What Do Giraffes Eat?
Summary
So, if you wonder if giraffes eat bananas, the answer is yes, they do. Giraffes do eat bananas, but not as much as any other animals would. They are ruminants, which means they eat almost all kinds of leaves, vegetation, and fruits.
If you’re on a safari and you have a banana to spare, it’s alright to feed it to giraffes since they won’t have any issue eating such. They also won’t mind if you give a bunch since they need large amounts of food per day. They can also eat the peels, so you don’t have to remove them, and you can offer bananas as a whole.
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Image credits – Canva
