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NATURAL HISTORY. 



M. Thibaut, who, in 1836, obtained the first specimen of the Giraffe alive for the Zoological 



Gardens in Regent's Park, tells us that " the first run of the Giraffe is exceedingly rapid. The 



swiftest Hoz-se, if unaccustomed to the desert, 



could not come up with it unless with extreme 



difficulty. The Arabs accustom their coursers 



to hunger and to fatigue ; milk generally serves 



them for food, and gives them power to continue 



their exertions during a very long run. If a 



Giraffe reaches a mountain, it passes the height 



with rapidity; its feet, which are like [not 



exactly in structure] those of the Goat, endow 



it with the dexterity of that animal ; it bounds 



over ravines with incredible power ; Horses 



cannot, in such situations, compete with it." 



" The Giraffe eats with great delicacy, and 



takes its food leaf by leaf, collecting them from 



the trees by means of its long tongue. It rejects /^/df (rf" * ne thorns, and in this respect differs from 



the Camel. . . . It is extremely fond 

 of society, and is very sensible. I have 

 observed one of them shed tears when it no 

 longer saw its companions or the persons 

 who were in the habit of attending it." 



By Le Vaillaiit and other sportsmen 

 most graphic accounts have been given, of 

 the hunting of the Giraffe. Quoting from 

 Captain Harris, we learn that "the 

 rapidity with which the awkwardly-formed 

 animals can move is beyond all things sur- 

 prising, our best Horses being unable to 

 close with them under two miles. Their 

 gallop is a succession of jumping strides, 

 the fore and hind leg on the same side 

 moving together instead of diagonally, as 

 in most other quadrupeds ; the former 

 being kept close together, and the latter 

 so wide apart, that in riding by the ani- 

 mal's side the hoof may be seen striking 

 on the outside of the Hoi-se, threatening 

 momentarily to overthrow him. Their 

 motion, altogether, reminded me rather of 

 the pitching of a ship or rolling of a rock- 

 ing-horse, than of anything living ; and the 

 remarkable gait is rendered still more 

 automaton-like by the switching, at regular 

 intervals, of the long black tail, which is 

 invariably curled above the back, and by 

 the corresponding action of the neck, 

 swinging as it does like a pendulum, and 

 literally imparting to the animal the ap- 

 pearance of a piece of machinery in motion. 

 Naturally gentle, timid, and peaceable, 

 the unfortunate Giraffe has no means of protecting itself but with its heels ; but even when hemmed 

 into a corner, it seldom resorts to this mode of defence." 



SKELETON* OF THE GIRAFFE. 



