It’s even been claimed that giraffes have decapitated lions with their kicks. One widely shared video on YouTube shows a giraffe kicking and trampling a lion to almost certain death. If cornered, however, it will certainly use its kick as its main defensive weapon, lashing out with its sharp, 12 inch hooves. For one thing, a giraffe is an exceptionally fast and surprisingly graceful runner, capable of reaching a speed of 35 miles an hour. One exception is pack hunters, particularly lions, but even then it’s a gamble. Evolution has made sure that its kick is strong enough to disable or kill a predator, which is why even the fiercest carnivores will generally only attack an adult giraffe if truly desperate, starving or plain stupid. Indeed, less than 18 months ago one farm worker in South Africa was tragically kicked to death by a giraffe on a gaming lodge.Ī giraffe doesn’t kick out of aggression, of course, but only when frightened and attempting to defend itself. There’s a good reason why experienced safari guides rarely let themselves or their guests get too close to a giraffe, even from behind. As for humans, the most powerful impact recorded in Thai kickboxing was a relatively puny 450 PSI (though that’s still more than enough to fracture a skull or dislocate a jaw, as fans of the sport will know).Įven more dangerously, and unlike a horse, a giraffe can kick in any direction. That’s about the same as the strongest kick ever recorded from a horse and a lot more powerful than a kangaroo kick, which generates just 850 PSI. In fact, a giraffe’s kick can generate an impact of 2,000 Pounds-of-force Per Square-inch (PSI). Given that a giraffe’s legs are longer than most humans are tall, at six feet long, it’s perhaps unsurprising that they can generate a lot of power. A threatened giraffe can be one of the deadliest creatures alive, and it all comes down to one terrifying secret weapon – their kick.

Yes, they might be the tallest mammal in the world, but with their comically long necks, cartoonishly huge eyes and clownish faces they seem both hilarious and harmless.

Of all the big beasts of the animal kingdom, giraffes are widely considered one of the more adorable, and often feature in compilations of the cutest animals alive.

Kicking harder than a sensei