CHAPTER XXII. 

 THE GIRAFFE. 



THE CAMELOrARDALID« OR GIRAFFES— ITS SIZE AND APPEAR-^NCE — ITS HABITAT — ITS ADAPTA- 

 TION TO ITS LOCATION — ITS MOVEMENTS — ITS FOOD — ITS SENSES — GIRAFFES IN LONDON AND 

 PARIS — MODES OF HUNTING — MEANING OF THE WORD " GIRAFFE." 



THE family Camelopardalid.e or Giraffes, now consist of but a 

 single species of a single genus, which ranges over all the open 

 country of Africa. It is almost entirely absent from West 

 Africa, which is more especially a forest district. During early epochs 

 of the world's history, these animals had a wider range. Extinct species 

 have been discovered in Greece, in the Siwalik hills of Western India 

 and in the island of Perim in the Red Sea, while an extinct genus Hella- 

 dotlicrinni, more bulky but not so tall as the Giraffe, ranged from the 

 South of France to Greece and Northwestern India. 



GENUS CAMELOPARDALIS. 



The name of this genus was given to the remarkable animals (I/jI 

 bear it because the ancient writers saw in it a " mixture of the Ca>nel 

 and the Leopard." It is one of those strange forms which men may be 

 excused for having believed to be fabulous. Even at the present day, 

 neither education nor experience diminishes the astonishment with 

 which we view this extraordinary creature. Tallest of all the dwellers 

 upon earth, it raises its stately head far above any animal that walks 

 upon the surface of our giol^e. It seems, indeed, to be rather the fancied 

 form of something devised b}- the brain of an eccentric artist, tlian an 

 animal who lives, moves, and has its being among the creations with 

 which we are familiar. Its singular proportions and the peculiarity of 

 iis gait, as well as its variegated coat, have always excited curiosity. 



