382 CASSELL'S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. f 



Another fact is equally worthy of notice. The giraffe has the fore legs much longer than the 

 hinder. The object of this conformation was most probably to elevate the anterior part of the spine, 

 so as to raise the head as much as possible, and also to give a considerable inclination to the whole 

 column, for the purpose of distributing more equally the weight of the head, and of the very long neck, 

 upon all the legs ; for the length of the neck is fully equal to that of the trunk. It is evident, that if 

 the body had been placed in the usual horizontal position, the anterior extremities would have had to 

 support the whole of the enormous weight of this neck and head. This peculiarity of structure, 

 however, introduces considerable modifications in the mode of progression of the animal. The ordinary 

 pace of the giraffe is an amble ; but it has also a slower walking pace, and, occasionally, a gallop. In 

 the amble, its undulation is so considerable as to give it the appearance of being lame. 



In man, the eyes protected by the edge of the over-arching forehead, from which arise the 

 eyebrows look forward, and have a comparatively bounded range of vision. In inferior creatures, 

 especially the timid and gentle, as the deer and the hare, each eye is situated laterally, looking from 

 opposite sides of the head, and is large and projecting. The sphere of vision is thus extended, so that 

 the approach of enemies, numerous as they are, may be more readily discerned. But in the giraffe, this 

 projection of the eye is so great that, in connection with its lateral position, the animal is nearly as 

 capable of seeing behind as before : hence arises one of the difficulties which the hunter experiences 

 of getting within gun-shot. If, too, the giraffe is surprised, or run down, it can most accurately direct 

 the storm of kicks by which it is accustomed to defend itself. 



Giraffes, brought over by M. Thibaut, succeeded most remarkably ; and the female gave birth 

 to no less than seven fawns before her death, in October, 18.53. The fine male, still in the Zoological 

 Society's possession, was the fourth of these; he was born on the 22nd of April, 1846. He is 

 indeed a noble fellow ; standing about seventeen feet high. When he strides out into the iuclosure, 

 high up as the trees are protected by boarding, he yet manages to browse as in his African forests, and 

 it is then that the visitor sees the full beauty of the animal, which is lost in the house. 



The giraffe, it may be added, in spite of his mild and melancholy look, fights ferociously with his 

 kind at certain seasons of the year. Two males once battled in the Zoological Gardens so furiously, 

 that the horn of one of them was actually driven into the head of the other. Their method of fighting 

 is veiy peculiar : stretching out their fore and hind legs, like a rocking-horse, they use their heads as 

 a blacksmith would a sledge-hammer, and swinging the vertebral column in a manner calculated, one 

 would think, to break it, they bring the full force of the horns to bear on their antagonist's skull. 

 The blow is severe in the extreme, and every precaution is taken to prevent such conflicts. 



The possession of these creatures has led Professor Owen to conclude that the middle protuberance 

 arising from the head is not a true horn, articulated by a suture, but merely a thickening of the 

 osfrontis. 



Though, as we have stated, there is but one species of the giraffe, there is a pale variety, which 

 has various synonyms.* 



Linnanis separated from the rest a family t of ruminants, from one of the species producing the 

 well-known substance called musk, for the sake of which the animal is eagerly hunted in the region it 

 frequents, namely, the high mountain ranges in China, Thibet, Tonqurn, Pegu, and also Southern 

 Tartary. The musk-deer is the chief species of this group in which this secretion is produced. 



THE MUSK-DEER.J 



Tins animal equals a roebuck in size and stature, while the rest of the family are extremely small, 

 somewhat exceeding a hare in size. The muzzle is naked. There are long canines in the upper jaw 

 of the males, projecting downwards, and coming out from between the lips. " These canines are coni- 

 pivssed, pointed, arched backwards, and have a sharp posterior cutting edge. In the true musk they 

 are at least three inches in length. 



Camelopardalis Girafa, ft. .Ethiopica: Sundevall. Camelopardalis Sennanrensis: Geoffrey. Camclnpardalis .Ethio- 

 Ogilby. Camelopardalis: Pliny. Camelo-pardalus : Jonst. Gvrafte: Belou. Twgus Girafla: Klein. Camelopard: 

 Kamel paard : Vosmaer. Giraffe : Thevet, Buffon, Le Vaillaut, Lichtenstem. Giraffe, or Caifieleopard : Harris, 

 t MuscliKUi-. | Moschus moschifcrus. 



