350 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Disposition, food, &c. 



end of the horns ; and the length, from the tip 

 of the nose to the extremity of the tail is upwards 

 of twenty feet. The colour of the male is a red- 

 dish white, diversified with large rusty spots : in 

 the female the spots are of a pale yellow. 



These animals appear to be of a mild and timid 

 disposition. When pursued, they trot so fast, 

 that even a good horse is scarcely able to keep 

 pace with them, and they continue their course 

 for a long time without requiring rest. In leap- 

 ing, they raise first the fore-legs, and then the 

 hinder ones, in the manner of ahorse whose fore- 

 legs are tied together. They subsist principally 

 on the leaves of trees, and particularly on those 

 of a peculiar species of mimosa, common in the 

 country where they are found, to which the ex- 

 treme length of their legs and neck admirably 

 adapt them : but they graze with great difficulty; 

 being under the necessity of dividing their fore- 

 legs to a considerable distance. 



It was formerly conjectured that the giraffe 

 possessed neither the power nor inclination to 

 defend itself against the attacks of other animals: 

 but M. le Vaillant informs us, that by its kicks 

 it frequently wearies, discourages, and distances 

 even the lion : its horns, however, are not used 

 as weapons of defence. 



From various accounts that have been trans- 

 mitted to us, the giraffe seems to have been 

 known to the ancients: and Heliodorus, the 

 Greek bishop of Sicca, has given a description 



