GIRAFFES, AND HOW TO CAPTURE THEM 141 



Camelo^pardalis, evidently likened it partly to the 

 camel, partly to the leopard : to the camel, probably, 

 from some faint resemblance in the face, and length 

 of neck and legs, and from the strange similar 

 habit of moving both legs on one side simultane- 

 ously — a remarkable resemblance; to the leopard, 

 from its spots and colouring. The Boers of South 

 Africa, curiously enough, have always called the 

 giraffe kameel — a camel; and, indeed, so widely 

 is this name recognized in South Africa, that all 

 English interior hunters speak also of the giraffe 

 as " camel." The name " giraffe " itself seems to 

 have been derived from the Arabian zirajjha, which 

 by some is supposed to have been a corruption 

 of zorapM, the Egyptian for " long neck." Others, 

 again, suppose zirajoha, or zerafa, to be a corruption 

 of zuricj)hata, an Arabic word signifying elegance or 

 beauty. Others, yet again, connect the name with 

 seraph, — a pretty compliment to this strangely beau- 

 tiful creature. The Bechuana name is hUla (pro- 

 nounced tootla), the Matabele intutla, while the 

 Hottentots know the tall quadruped as naip. The 

 Maparwa Bushmen, a race of pure hunters who in- 

 habit the remote parts of the North Kalahari region, 

 and the wild desert country thence to the Zambesi, 

 call the animal fuahe (pronounced ng'habe). These 

 Masarwa Bushmen appear to be an ancient aboriginal 

 race, somewhat allied to the Korannas living along 



