BLOTCHED GIRAFFE 109 



Skull of Northern Blotched Giraffe. From De Winton, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1897. 



BLOTCHED GIRAFFE (Giraffa camelopardalis). 



Ihuhla of the Swazis. Ngabe of the Masawaras. 



Indhlulamiti of the Zulus. Girt or Halgiri of the Somalis. 



Tuthla of the Basutos. Kameel of the Boers. 



Luomba ningo of the Chilala. Nyama marakiti of the Asenga. 



The long limbs and neck, the peculiarly-formed head, and the 

 dappled or netted hide, render giraffes distinguishable at a glance from 

 all other living ruminants; with none of which, except the okapi, 

 they have any very close affinity, although their nearest relatives are 

 the deer. So great is their distinctness that, with the okapi, they 

 constitute a family by themselves the Giraffidce. One of the most 

 marked peculiarities of the giraffes is to be found in the horns. 

 The largest pair arise from the head between the ears, and are covered 

 during life with skin. They are never shed ; and in the adult are 

 immovably united to the bones of the skull, although separate in young 

 animals. In addition to these, there is a more or less distinct third 

 horn, or boss, situated on the forehead between the eyes, as well as 

 a rudimentary pair at the back of the head, or occiput. Giraffes have 

 a long, extensile tongue, hairy lips, and broad, low-crowned cheek 

 teeth. There are no tusks in the upper jaw ; and the lateral hoofs 

 are wanting. 



