THE GIRAFFE 



923 



them, he must indeed be slow of conception who fails to discover both grace and 

 -dignity in all their movements. ' ' Referring to the admirable protective resemblance 

 of many animals to their natural surroundings, the same author goes on to observe 

 that " in the case of the giraffe, which is invariably met with among venerable for- 

 ests, where innumerable blasted and weather-beaten trunks and stems occur, I have 

 repeatedly been in doubt as to the presence of a troop, until I had recourse to my 

 telescope, and on referring to my savage attendants I have known even their 

 practiced eyes deceived, at one time mistaking these dilapidated trunks for camelo- 

 pards, and again confounding real camelopards with these aged veterans of the for- 

 ests." It may be added that the dappled hide of the giraffe blends harmoniously 

 with the splashes of light and shade formed by the sun glinting through the foliage of 

 the trees beneath which the animals are wont to take their stand, and thus intensifies 

 the allusion. It will be observed that in the foregoing account the maximum number 

 of individuals observed in a single herd was forty. Larger numbers have, however, 

 been seen together by other observers in Southern Africa, while in the Sudan, Sir S. 

 Baker states that on one occasion he counted seventy-three, on another one hundred 

 and three, and on a third upward of one hundred and fifty-four individuals in a herd. 



The food of the giraffe consists almost exclusively of leaves, carefully plucked one 

 by one from the trees by the aid of the long flexible tongue. The senses of both sight 

 and hearing are highly developed, and the lofty position of the head gives to the soft 

 and liquid eyes a wide field of view. The animal's only means of defense is by kicking 

 out with its legs, and the blows thus delivered are of terrific force and power. This 

 mode of attack is employed by the cow in defending her young against Carnivores, and 

 likewise in the contests which take place among the males during the pairing season. 



From observations made on individuals in menageries, it appears that the 

 pairing time is either during March or in the early part of April, and that the 

 young are born in May or June of the following year; the duration of the period of 

 gestation thus being as much as from four hundred and thirty-one to four hundred 

 and forty-four days, or fourteen and one-half months, or a little less. But a single 

 young is produced at a birth, and the little creature in three days after its appear- 

 ance in the world is able to trot by the side of its dam. 



The speed and endurance of giraffes are alike considerable. When running, 

 the tail is carried twisted in a corkscrew-like manner over the back, and the neck 

 inclined somewhat forward. Their gait is peculiar, and takes the form of a kind of 

 awkward gallop, " their hind-legs," writes Mr. Selous, " being straddled out at each 

 step and coming (one on each side) in front of the fore-legs. If you only look at 

 their bodies and necks from behind, they appear to be sailing or gliding along with- 

 out making any movement at all. They get over the ground, however, at a great 

 rate, and it requires a good horse to run one down. The great thing is to press 

 them to their utmost speed at first, when, if fat, they soon get blown and can be 

 ridden into, and, if the wind is favorable, driven for miles right up to one's wagons, 

 just like an ox or an eland. At a hard gallop they can, however, spin along for miles. ' ' 



,, .. Giraffe hunting: seems to be generally undertaken on horseback, and 



Hunting 



all who have partaken of it speak of the excitement of galloping 



behind a line of these magnificent animals scouring across the plains. There are, 



