What animal eats leaves from the acacia tree?

While there are several Savannah-inhabiting animals that eat acacia tree leaves, the giraffe is undoubtedly the most well known. Giraffes use their long necks, tongues and ridged mouths to reach and strip leaves from the tree's flexible branches.

Acacia trees also have an unusual defense against grazing giraffes; as the trees are being fed on, they release a chemical that alerts nearby trees that they are in danger of being eaten as well. The trees that receive the chemical message exude toxic tannins into their leaves to ward off snacking giraffes. For this reason, giraffes typically graze upwind to stay ahead of the chemical messages being released.