DISTRIBUTION. 93 



Kalahari, this abstinence is, from the nature of the country, 

 involuntary ; but according to Mr. Bryden, the giraffes 

 living in the neighbourhood of the Botletli river their 

 only source of water never drink therefrom throughout 

 the spring and winter months. When a giraffe does drink, 

 unless it wades into the stream, it is compelled to straddle 

 its fore-legs far apart in order to bring down its lips to the 

 required level, and the same ungainly attitude is perforce 

 assumed on the rare occasions when it grazes. 



There is yet one other point to be mentioned in con- 

 nection with the adaptation of the giraffe to its surroundings 

 before passing on, and this relates to its coloration. 

 When seen within the enclosures of a menagerie 

 where, by the way, their pallid hue gives but a faint 

 idea of the deep chestnut tinge of the dark blotches on the 

 coat of a wild male the dappled hide of a giraffe appears 

 conspicuous in the extreme. We are told, however, that 

 among the tall kameel-dhorn trees, or giraffe-mimosas, 

 on which they almost exclusively feed, giraffes are the 

 most inconspicuous of all animals ; their mottled coats 

 harmonizing so exactly with the weather-beaten stems and 

 with the splashes of light and shade thrown on the ground 

 by the sun shining through the leaves, that at a com- 

 paratively short distance even the Bushman or Kaffir is 

 frequently at a total loss to distinguish trees from giraffes, 

 or giraffes from trees. 



At the present day, it is hardly necessary to mention, the 

 single species of giraffe is exclusively confined to Africa, 

 not even ranging into Syria, where so many other species 

 of animals otherwise characteristic of that continent are 

 found. This restricted distribution was, however, by no 

 means always characteristic of the genus ; for during the 

 Pliocene period extinct species of these beautiful animals 

 roamed over certain parts of southern Europe and Asia. The 

 first of these extinct giraffes was discovered by Falconer and 

 Cautley many years ago in that marvellous mausoleum of 

 fossil animals, the Siwalik Hills of north-eastern India ; 

 remains of the same species being subsequently brought 

 to light in the equivalent deposits of Perim Island, in 

 the Gulf of Cambay, and likewise in the Punjab. A second 



