222 THE GIRAFFE. 



GIRAFFES. 



Tallest of all earthly dwellers, the Giraffe erects its stately head 

 far above any other animal that walks the face of the globe. It is an 

 inhabitant of various parts of Africa, and is evidently a unique being, 

 comprising in itself an entire tribe. The color of the coat is slightly 

 different in the specimens which inhabit the northern and the southern 

 portions of Africa, the southern animal being rather darker than its 

 northern relative. 



The height of a full-grown male Giraffe is from eighteen to twenty 

 feet, the female being somewhat less in her dimensions. The greater 

 part of this enormous stature is obtained by the extraordinarily long neck, 

 which is nevertheless possessed of only seven vertebrae, as in ordinary 

 animals. Those bones are, however, extremely elongated, and their artic- 

 ulation is admirably adapted to the purpose which they are called upon 

 to fulfil. The back of the Giraffe slopes considerably from the shoul- 

 ders to the tail, and at first sight the fore-legs of the animal appear to 

 be longer than the hinder limbs. The legs themselves are, however, 

 of equal length, and the elevation of the shoulders is due to the very 

 great elongation of the shoulder-blades. Upon the head are two ex- 

 crescences which resemble horns, and are popularly called by that 

 name. They are merely growths or developments of certain bones of 

 the skull, somewhat similar to the bony cores on which the hollow 

 horns of the oxen and antelopes are set. These quasi-horns are cov- 

 ered with skin, and have on their summits a tuft of dark hair. On 

 the forehead, and nearly between the eyes, a third bony 2:)rojection is 

 seen, occupying the same position that was traditionally accredited to 

 the horn of the unicorn. 



The singular height of this animal is entirely in accordance with its 

 habits and its mode of acquiring food. As the creature is accustomed 

 to feed upon the leaves of trees, it must necessarily be of very consid- 

 erable stature to be able to reach the leaves on which it browses, and 

 must also be possessed of organs by means of which it can select and 

 gather such portions of the foliage as may suit its palate. The former 

 object is gained by the great length of the neck and legs, and the lat- 

 ter by the wonderful development of the tongue, which is so marvel- 

 lously formed that it is capable of a considerable amount of prehen- 

 sile power, and can be elongated or contracted in a very wonderful man- 

 ner. Large as is the animal, it can contract the tip of its tongue into 

 so small a compass that it can pass into the pipe of an ordinary pocket- 

 key, while its prehensile powers enable its owner to pluck any selected 

 leaf with perfect ease. In captivity the Giraffe is rather apt to make 

 too free a use of its tongue, such as twitching the artificial flowers and 

 foliage from ladies' bonnets, or any similar freak. 



