GIRAFFE. 



!3S 



the case of the giraffe, which is invariably met with among venerable forests, where 

 innumerable blasted and weather-beaten trunks and stems occur, I have repeatedly 

 been in doubt as to the presence of a troop, until I had recourse to my telescope, 

 and on referring to my savage attendants I have known even their practised eyes 

 deceived, at one time mistaking these dilapidated trunks for camelopards, and 

 again confounding real camelopards with these aged veterans of the forest." It 

 may be added that the dappled hide of the giraffe blends harmoniously with the 

 splashes of light and shade formed by the sun glinting through the foliage of the 

 trees beneath which the animals are wont to take their stand, and thus intensifies 

 the illusion. It will be observed that in the foregoing account the maximum number 

 of individuals observed in a single herd was forty. Larger numbers have, however, 

 been seen together by other observers in Southern Africa, while in the Sudan Sir 

 S. Baker states that on one occasion he counted seventy-three, on another one 

 hundred and three, and on a third upwards of one hundred and fifty-four individuals 

 in a herd. 



The food of the giraffe consists almost exclusively of leaves, carefully plucked 

 one by one from the trees by the aid of the long flexible tongue. The senses of 

 both sight and hearing are highly developed ; and the lofty position of the head 

 gives to the soft and liquid eyes a wide field of view. The animal's only means 

 of defence is by kicking out with its legs ; and the blows thus delivered are of 

 terrific force and power. This mode of attack is employed by the cow in defending 

 her young against Carnivores, and likewise in the contests which take place among 

 the males during the pairing-season. 



From observations made on individuals in menageries, it appears that the 

 pairing-time is either during March or in the early part of April, and that the 

 young are born in May or June of the following year ; the duration of the period 

 of gestation thus being as much as from four hundred and thirty-one to four hundred 

 and forty-four days, or fourteen and a half months, or a little less. But a single 

 young is produced at a birth, and the little creature in three days after its 

 appearance in the world is able to trot by the side of its dam. 



The speed and endurance of giraffes are alike considerable. When running, 

 the tail is carried twisted in a corkscrew-like manner over the back, and the neck 

 inclined somewhat forwards. Their gait is peculiar, and takes the form of a kind 

 of awkward gallop, "their hind-legs," writes Mr. Selous, "being straddled out at 

 each step and coming (one on each side) in front of the fore-legs. If you only look 

 at their bodies and necks from behind, they appear to be sailing or gliding along 

 without making any movement at all. They get over the ground, however, at a 

 great rate, and it requires a good horse to run one down. The great thing is to 

 press them to their utmost speed at first, when, if fat, tiny soon get blown and 

 can be ridden into, and, if the wind is favourable, driven for miles right up to one's 

 waggons, just like an ox or an eland. At a hard gallop fchey can. however, spin 

 along for miles." 



Giraffe-hunting seems to be generally undertaken on horseback, 



and all who have partaken of it speak of the excitement of galloping 



behind a line of these magnificent animals scouring across the plains. There are, 



however, but few who fail to be struck with the pathetic and half-reproachful 



