exist only in Africa. In our collection of African animals the 

 weight of this tallest of all mammals was next in size to 

 that of the hippopotamus and the elephant. The giraffe has 

 the unique advantage of browsing on the foliage and young 

 shoots of the scattered mimosa and acacia trees. In height, 

 these trees seem to fit exactly the giraffe's size and needs. 



Since these large ruminants browse exclusively on the 

 tops of the trees and since they may reach 18 feet in height, 

 they have so wide a vision that they cannot be lost, and 

 since they remain largely in a given area, the young cannot 

 fail to see their parents. Therefore, the evolution of a voice 

 in the giraffe would have had no survival value. 



The giraffe is among the most peaceful and harmless of 

 African animals. Its enemies are the lion, the leopard, and 

 man. It is said to be seldom that a full-grown, healthy 

 giraffe is attacked or killed by a lion or a leopard. The calves 

 at times are victims, but usually the mother is able to beat 

 off enemies with her powerful forelegs. The greatest problem 

 of the giraffe, then, seems to be the physical process of 

 moving from one tree to the other, the maintenance of its 

 balance, and the protection of its young from lions. 



In its dignified walk the giraffe moves with the caution of 

 a man on stilts, the racklike action of the legs being similar 

 to that of the camel. Living in a type of country in which 

 there is little opportunity for running, the only other gait the 

 giraffe possesses is a lumbering gallop, which, as Maxwell 1 

 states, "by reason of their long legs and comparatively 

 short body, results in a characteristic flourishing of the 

 limbs, although in reality when seen from the rear, with so 

 little effort do these great ruminants move that they seem 

 to be sailing over the veldt." 



The extreme wariness of the giraffe is probably due to the 

 fact that its watchtower position affords it an opportunity 



1 MAXWELL, MARIUS, "Stalking Big Game with a Camera in Equatorial 

 Africa," with a monograph on The African Elephant, William Heinemann, 

 Ltd., London, 1925. 



70 



