# Why do giraffes have horns?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-giraffes-have-horns/47404>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 27, 2000, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-giraffes-have-horns/47404 "2000-12-27T18:20:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Truncated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Truncated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truncated)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-giraffes-have-horns/47404/1 "2000-12-27T18:20:51Z")

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Do they use them for anything? Are they perhaps just evolutionary leftovers? Why are they shaped the way they are (furry spheres on sticks)?

BTW, hello. This is my first post. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-giraffes-have-horns/47404/2 "2000-12-27T21:13:09Z")

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hello! welcome to the SDMB!

This website…  
[http://nature-wildlife.com/girtxt.htm](http://nature-wildlife.com/girtxt.htm)  
has this to say about it…

> [@](#):
>
> Females never use their horns, and males only use theirs in contests with peers.

If I recall my nature documentaries correctly, the males bash each other with their horns in mock battles in order to establish the alpha-giraffe.

That, plus the horns help to hold their hats on. 🙂