ANIMAL GIANTS 17 



rule, three horns, the Southern species has a pair only. Both male 

 and female bear these so-called horns, for, unlike horns possessed 

 by other animals, those of the Giraffe are only bony excrescences 

 tipped with a tuft of black hair and do not, as one might suppose, 

 acquire the proportions of the appendages borne by other horn- 

 bearing beasts. 



The great length of neck permits the Giraffe to reach the 

 succulent leaves of trees, and the long and prehensile upper lip 

 and long tongue greatly assist in the feeding process. 



In the dry regions of the arid desert, where this fine tall giant 

 makes its home, water is at a discount, and hence it comes about 

 that the Giraffe must perforce go without it for a great length of 

 time. Having located a welcome oasis in the desert, some such 

 attitude as that shown in Fig. 9 has to be adopted before the animal 

 can. satisfy its thirst. The creamy-fawn ground-colour of the South 

 African species is marked with patches of lemon-fawn to brownish- 

 black of various sizes, whilst the Northern kind is generally light 

 reddish-chestnut, marked with tawny lines which are extremely 

 regular in design. 



Although this interesting creature is not nearly so plentiful 

 to-day as in the by-gone, and those who would pursue it must go 

 into the wilds of Africa where civilization has not yet penetrated, 

 there is no immediate cause for alarm concerning its numbers. 

 The discovery by Sir Harry Johnstone a few years ago of that 

 remarkable animal, the Okapi, supplied a sort of connecting-link 

 between the Giraffe and the Antelope, and goes to prove that secrets 

 are yet to be discovered in the great African continent which has 

 thus far proved so abundantly rich in faunal life. 



DWARF BUFFALO. This fine animal belongs to a dwarf 

 race of the African Buffalo, and, as Fig. ib shows, it possesses 

 horns which are more like a heavy two-sided crown, or two large 

 plates. These horns almost meet in the middle of the forehead 

 (having the appearance of being fused together), and so low do 

 they lie that the large ears when brought forward only just steer 

 clear of the lower part of the heavy appendages mentioned. 



It is a strong, powerful-looking Buffalo and claims relationship 

 with the Oxen. 



The Cape Buffalo is a formidable beast, and this is heightened 

 by the horny helmet with which the head is adorned, and which in 

 the bull is flattened out in the manner shown in Fig. 10. 

 c 



