] 92 RUM1NANTIA. 



SECTION XXIV. 



CAMELOPARDAE. (Gr. x&pifio$, kamelos, a camel ; 

 pardalis, a leopard.) 



THE CAMELOPARDS. 



These singular and beautiful ruminants, in their general struct- 

 ure, most nearly approach the Deer, but have points of resem- 

 blance also to the Antelopes and Camels, besides striking pecu- 

 liarities of their own. They have persistent horns, common to 

 both sexes, and are the tallest of all known quadrupeds; fre- 

 quenting the wooded plains and hills that skirt the arid deserts, 

 or the verge of mighty forests where groves of mimosa trees 

 beautify the scenery. 



Camelopardalis Giraffe is the sole species, including two 

 varieties, the ona native to Nubia, Abyssinia, and the regions 

 adjacent, and ranked by Swainson as a distinct species, the 

 other, found in Southern Africa.* (See Chart.) 



The general characters of the Giraffe are the following, viz., 

 "Lip not grooved, entirely covered with hair, much produced 

 before the nostril ; tongue very extensile ; neck very long, and 

 having a short thick mane; body short; hind legs short; false 

 hoof none; tail elongate, with a tuft of thick hair at the end." 

 This animal at once impresses the beholder with its towering 

 height, varying from fifteen to twenty feet. The males are 

 generally fifteen or sixteen, and the females thirteen or fourteen 

 feet in height, and their young at birth, six feet. Its thickness 

 is not what might, perhaps, be expected from the height. In 

 order to support its very long neck, (but having only the 

 number of bones found in the human neck,) the withers are ele- 

 vated; the spinal processes of the vertebrae are proloteped to 

 meet the elastic ligament which runs along the neck, ariu assist 

 to keep it in its natural position. It is said above, "the hind 

 legs are short." This describes them as they appear ; but in 

 reality the front and hind legs are about the same length ; the 



* The Commentator on the "Pictorial Bible," where a good cut of the 

 Giraffe is given, says, with reference to the word Chamois, used, Genesis 

 iii., 21, " The Arabic version understood that the word Giraffe is meant 

 here, which is very likely to have been the case, for the Chamois is not met 

 with so far to the Southward as Egypt and Palestine." The Jews had, 

 probably, many opportunities of becoming acquainted with the animal while 

 in Egypt, as had also the seventy (translators of the Septuagint) who 

 resided there, and who indicate their knowledge of it in their translation 

 of the Hebrew name.' 



