11 Magnificent Animals With Long Necks (Neck Lenght & Pictures)

Many theories and researches explain why some animal species evolved and adapted in specific ways.  One adaptation of them is having a long neck, like a giraffe.  Different animal species with long necks exist worldwide, and people also want to know about animals with long necks. That’s why we will discuss the 11 animals with long necks today.

These animals’ strange physique adaptation attracts people, and they want to discover the reality behind this unique characteristic.

The biologist’s study reveals that they are the same from their origin or life started on Earth. So, their unique body shapes enable them to participate in this environment. 

Such as it helps them in gaining food and decreases the competition for them. Further, we can say that long necks help them in their survival. They can see their predators from far across. 

.The list of these long-necks animals is given below:

• Giraffes
• Ostriches
• The Arabian Camel
• Llama
• Rheas
• Jabirus
• Swans
• Herons
• Flamingos
• Alpacas
• Gerenuks

In this post, we are revealing the actual facts behind this prominent and unique adaptation. But before we go there, we discuss the fact that why they have evolved in this way.                     

Why do animals have long necks?

According to our research, most theories say it is for survival. For example, animals that have long necks, such as giraffes, live in the same habitat with other animal species that get their diet (food) from different types of plants and vegetation for survival. 

Giraffes have longer necks than other animals that eat plants. With the help of their necks, they easily reach the top of trees and eat plants. Simply put, their necks help them a lot for their survival and help to decrease the competition for food. 

However, some theories say that their long necks are not for food but for fighting and attracting mates. There are many other theories that also exist, but now, we have to talk about our major topic, which is “animals with long necks. “

List Of 11 Animals With Long Necks

Now we are going to study these 11 amazing animals in detail, one by one, according to their neck and body measurements.

Giraffes:

Scientific Name: Giraffa camelopardalis.

Order:  Artiodactyla

Family: Giraffidae

Neck Lenght: Approx. 6 to 8 feet. 

It is a very tall animal by weight and length. An average adult Giraffa’s length is about 4.2 meters (14 feet). They are the tallest animal by their measurement. Giraffes belong to the herbivorous family.

A male giraffe’s (known as a bull) neck can grow up to 8 feet tall, and a female giraffe’s (known as a cow) neck length can grow up to 7 feet tall. 

They live their lives in Southern and Eastern Africa. They eat the leaves of the tall trees. Eating soft leaves from the boughs of tall trees is their favorite food.

They eat grasses but less than the other animals. They have a proper digestive system that digests their food in a proper time.

The giraffes are found mostly around the water resources. They drink water more than eating food. They also move to the ponds, lakes, canals, and rivers for drinking water.

The lions and the crocodiles are their main predators. However, their long neck is beneficial in eating food and preventing predators.

The most exciting thing is that the sleeping time of these massive sizes animals is very small. They only sleep up to 30 to 40 minutes regularly. 

A giraffe’s leg length is about 6 feet, which helps them run at 34.7 miles per hour. An adult giraffe’s heart length is about 2 feet, and its weight is about 25 pounds. Another interesting fact, a newborn giraffe child’s length is about 6 feet which is the same as an adult human’s. 

Ostriches:

Scientific Name: Struthio

Order:  Struthioniformes

Family: Struthionidae

Neck Lenght: Approx. 3.2 feet (1m)

Ostriches are very massive birds by their weight. These are long-sized and the largest bird group of flightless birds. The length of the male is 6 to 10 feet, and its weight is about 130 kilograms. The female length is 5 to 9 feet, and the weight is about 90 to 120 kilograms.

An adult’s ostriches measurement of its neck is almost 3.5 feet which are nearly half of its body height. They eat different foods, such as leaves, plants, flowers, roots, and insects.

They lay big eggs whose length is about 6 inches and weigh about 3 pounds. Their neck helps them alert predators. They have the ability to move their neck in any direction. They can view at 360 angles which helps them to see the predators easily.

Besides this, these are very fast runners and can run 40 miles per hour. They are primarily found in African forests, but nowadays, ostrich farming is promoted worldwide to fulfill meat needs.

The Arabian Camel:

Scientific Name: Camelus dromedarius

Order:  Artiodactyla

Family: Camelidae

Neck Lenght: Approx. 6.6 feet (2m)

At number three, we discuss the Arabian camel, also called the dromedary camel. This camel’s neck is more than 6 feet tall and has a lovely shape. However, the length can be 10 feet. The male weighs about 400 to 690 kg, and the female weighs 300 to 540 kg. The length of its neck is half the size of its body measurement. These camels are the favorite animals of the Arabian people.

Dromedary camel lives their lives in the Middle East, North America, Australia, Afghanistan, and the Sahara Desert. The Arabians are very eager to take care of these animals. They love the camels from ancient times. People complete different tasks with the help of these beautiful camels. The camels are the ships of the deserts and can walk through the sandy areas for several days. 

The Arabian camel eats herbs from the trees and grass. These long necks help them to get food (leaves) from tall trees. They can store water in their bellies for a specific time. They can see their predators from a long distance. These camels come at the top of the list of the longest limbs in the family Camelidae.

This camel can store 80 pounds of fat in its hump instead of water. These camels have the power and strength to travel 100 miles in the desert without water. As we know, most camel species can travel for several days without water. But, if the dromedary camels drink, they drink 100 liters of water at once. 

Llama

Scientific Name: Lama Glama 

Order:  Artiodactyla

Family: Camelidae

Neck Lenght: Approx. 2 feet 

The llamas are magnificent animals. They look like a small camels. These are less than 6 feet long animal. The neck of these animals is about 2 (24 inches) feet long. The length of an adult llama is about 92 to 160 cm, and its weight is about 130 to 200 kg. 

They are native to the mountainous regions of South America but can be found in Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina. Llama is the largest specie of the 4 lamoid species. The average lifespan of a llama is about 20 years, and they are social animals.

They can eat all types of green leaves, herbs, and plants. They drink water in very little amounts. The shape of their necks is very charming. They use their necks differently, for example, to gain food, drink water and fight. They evolved 40 million years ago in the Great Plains of North America.

Rheas

Scientific Name: Rhea

Order:  Rheiformes

Family: Rheidae

Neck Lenght: Less than 1 foot

Rheas are long-necked South American omnivorous flightless birds. The length of the rheas is 3 to 5 feet, and its weight is about 15 to 30 kilograms. However, the length of an adult rhea neck is less than 1 foot. They resemble the Emu and Ostriches.

Rhea’s favorite places are open areas and oceans. These areas are very suitable for their growth. They can easily grow in these places. They like eating big leaves from the trees and various foods. Rgeas are native to South America and are also known as ñandus. 

Sometimes they also eat insects and reptiles. They secure themselves from predators by zig-zag dodging skills. They have very large wings, and they use them for running and to dodge predators. Rheas has the ability or talent to run at the speed of 40 mph. The lifespan of this specie is about 10.5 years. Female rheas can lay 60 eggs in total. 

The female is very protective of their young; if a male rhea or human comes near its young, then it will attack. 

Jabirus

Scientific Name: Jabiru mycteria

Order:  Ciconiiformes

Family: Ciconiidae

Neck Lenght: 2 feet

Jabirus is a famous bird of America. These are very colorful birds with long necks. The total length of this bird is 5 feet, but its neck is approximately 2 feet long. It grows in Argentina and Mexico.

The length of an adult jabiru is about 47 to 55, and its weight is about 9 to 19 pounds. The wingspan length of an adult jabiru is about 7 to 9 feet. This beautiful bird searches for food near water resources like ponds, rivers, and lakes. The lifespan of this specie is about 36 years. 

This red and black-necked bird can fly very high in the air. The interesting fact: jabirus swallow their food completely. It is considered one of the important birds from the Ciconiidae family. 

They are the largest flying birds in America. Jabirus are also famous for stealing food from other animals and also from other jabirus. 

Whooper Swans

Scientific Name: Cygnus

Order:  Anseriformes

Family: Anatidae

Neck Lenght: 3 ft. (0.91 m) 

Swans are birds that look like ducks and geese but are bigger than them. It can fly in the air. Swans are the warmer region’s birds. The ratio of these birds is significantly higher in Australia, New Zealand, and some other islands than in other countries.

Whopper swans are the largest living species of swans. The average length of a whooper swan is about 4 feet (140-165 cm), and the weight is about 8 to 11 kg. However, they contain longer necks than geese, and the length of a whooper swan’s neck is about 3 feet. 

These herbivore birds like to eat leaves, roots, and stems. The age of swans is more than two decades (20 to 25 years)  in the wild environment. The length of an adult whooper swan wingspan is about 205 to 275 cm. Their top speed is 140 km/h. 

Their long neck helps them to get food in the water and on land. Whooper swans are the only ones in the swan specie that undertake the longest sea crossing of 500 to 900 miles a year. 

Herons

Scientific Name: Ardeidae

Order:  Pelecaniformes

Family: Ardeidae; Leach, 1820

Neck Lenght: 2.5 ft.

Herons are birds that usually live in a pleasant and cool atmosphere. These birds live their lives in North and South America and like cool water Islands.

These birds are medium, 4.5 feet tall, and have 2.5 feet-long necks. They have flexible necks to move them at a 360-degree angle.

These birds like to eat fish, reptiles, insects, and amphibians. Their favorite foods are Squirrel and Banded killifish. The shape of the bird is very charming and attractive. They can prey or hunt very easily. There are four different species of herons:  Great egret, Grey heron, Goliath heron, and Little bittern.

The Goliath heron ( giant heron) is the largest specie of heron, whose height is about 1.2 to 15 meters. The length of a heron’s wingspan is about 1.8 to 2.3 meters.

Flamingos

Scientific Name: Phoenicopterus roseus

Order:  Phoenicopteriformes

Family: Phoenicopteridae; Bonaparte, 1831

Neck Lenght: 2.6 feet (0.79 m)

Flamingos are “s” shaped, very beautiful, and cute birds. It mostly looks like herons with a pink color. These birds are in very small numbers than all the other birds. The habitat of these birds is fresh water like lakes, rivers, ponds, and the area of Mexico, Florida, and the Caribbean’s water.

The total length of flamingos is 3.9 feet, and their neck is 2.6 feet. These birds are very good divers and can dive into the depth of the lakes. The flexible long-necked bird can move its neck all around.

There are 6 species of flamingos that exist in this beautiful world: Greater flamingo, Lesser flamingo, Chilean flamingo, James’s flamingo, American flamingo, and Andean flamingo. The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the largest flamingo species, whose height is about 1.1 to 1.5 meters. 

Alpacas

Scientific Name: Vicugna pacos 

Order:  Artiodactyla

Family: Camelidae

Neck Lenght: 1.2 feet (36 cm)

Alpacas are 3.7 feet tall mammals with 1.2 feet (36 cm) long necks. Alpacas like to eat grass and leaves from the trees. Green leaves are the best food for alpacas. Due to its long neck, it can watch its predators far from long distances.

They are a South American camelid mammal species and look similar to llamas. However, these two animal species (Llamas and Alpacas)  are close relatives. An average alpaca’s weight is about 45 to 90 kilograms. The length of their tails is about 6 to 10 inches.

Alpacas are social animals, and many people worldwide keep them as pets. Their fur is very soft and also does not retain water. In fact, their fur is the second strongest fur in the world. According to some research, a few Adean people eat their meat. Alpacas come in 22 different colors.

Gerenuks

Scientific Name: Litocranius walleri  

Order:  Artiodactyla

Family: Bovidae

Neck Lenght: 0.8 feet (26 cm)

Gerenuks are mostly found in the dry parts of Africa. These herbivores can gain their food from six to eight feet tall trees. Besides this, they eat grass, bushes, fruits, flowers, and plants.

They are also called Waller’s gazelle. Gerenuks live their lives in Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Eastern countries of Kenya. These herbivores’ animal length is about 4 feet (1.5), and their neck length is 0.8 feet or 26 cm. The weight of the average gerenuk is about 39 kg.

This humble creature can live in hot weather conditions without any tension. They can tolerate severe shortages of water. These are very soft-hearted and very humble.

The only male ones have horns, and they have the excellent ability or talent to run at the speed of 60 km/h. They also look like the giraffe; that’s why they are named the garanuug, meaning in Somali “giraffe-necked.” The average lifespan of gerenuks in captivity is 13 years.