Meet Patches, Long Island's giraffe

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - April the giraffe's pregnancy captivated the world. The mother of four delivered her nearly six-foot calf over the weekend while millions watched online. But what do we know about the tallest mammal?

Giraffes are from Africa, eat about 75 pounds of food a day, and can go days without water, according to Adrienne Babcock, Animal Coordinator at White Post Farms in Melville, Long Island. Males grow to be about 16 to 18 feet tall and females about 12 to 14 feet tall.

Babcock introduced us to the newest resident, Patches. The 10-foot tall herbivore came to the farm from upstate New York in August with her friend Sonny the Alpaca. The leggy lady, who likes sharing snacks, is only a year old but already weighs 1,000 pounds.

Her 18-inch tongue is dark in color to prevent sunburn. A giraffe's sharp hooves can be used to fight off attackers. Their legs, almost six feet long, allow them to run up to 35 mph. And while their necks are longer than any other mammal's, they have seven vertebrae like we do.

Patches got her name because of her unique spots. Similar to human fingerprints, no two spots are the same. Their sleep pattern is a little different than ours. They can sleep standing up or lying down and only need about four hours of sleep every day. As we learned with April, giraffes have to be fully mature to get pregnant and the term typically lasts more than a year.

Patches has a nicer living space than most people do. She is always listening to country music, has a skylight, heated floors, and gets to visit with all of the children who want to stop by and say hi.