36 



" The first run of the Giraffe is exceedingly rapid. The swiftest horse, if unac- 

 customed 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 the Giraffe reaches a mountain, it passes the heights with rapidity : its feet, 

 which are like those of a 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 is fond of a wooded country. The leaves of trees are its principal 

 food. Its conformation allows of its reaching their tops. The one of which I have 

 previously spoken as having been killed by the Arabs measured 21 French feet in 

 height from the ears to the hoofs. Green herbs are also verjr agreeable to this ani- 

 mal ; but its structure does not admit of its feeding on them in the same manner as 

 our domestic animals, such as the Ox and the Horse. It is obliged to straddle widely ; 

 its two fore-feet are gradually stretched widely apart from each other, and its neck 

 being then bent into a semicircular form, the animal is thus enabled to collect the 

 grass. But on the instant that any noise interrupts its repast, the animal raises 

 itself with rapidity, and has recourse to immediate flight. 



"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 the thorns, and in this 

 respect diifers from the Camel. As the grass on which it is now fed is cut for it, it 

 takes the upper part only, and chews it until it perceives that the stem is too coarse 

 for it. Great care is required for its preservation, and especially great cleanliness. 



" 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 to it." 



Independerxt of the long neck, which forms so singular a feature in the Giraffe, 

 there are many points in its structure well deserving attention. The eyes are large, 

 soft, and bright, and are overshadowed by long thick lashes ; their prominent and 

 lateral situation enables the animal to survey the desert around with the utmost ease ; — 

 an important circumstance connected with its security in the midst of enemies. • 



The tongue is long, cylindrical, capable of great extension and of remarkable flexi- 

 bility ; it is in fact an organ of prehension, by means of which the animal draws 

 down the twigs and leaves of the trees on which it feeds ; the lips are also extremely 

 moveable, and the nostrils are oblique slits capable of being closed at pleasure. The 

 muzzle is not naked as in the Ox but clothed with hair, an index of its browzing not 

 grazing habits. The horns are short, covered with skin, surmounted by a tuft of 

 long hair, and a protuberance, as if occasioned by a horn rising beneath the skin, 

 appears in the centre of the forehead. The bone there exhibits a bold conical pro- 

 cess which is more conspicuous in the male than in the female. 



The muzzle is peculiarly slender and elongated. 



In its disposition the Giraffe is very gentle and timid ; in captivity, however, with 

 kind treatment, it soon becomes familiar, and loses all distrust even towards strangers. 

 Notwithstanding its natural gentleness, the Giraffe when hard pressed by its enemies 

 defends itself very vigorously, striking powerful blows with its limbs, and thus often 

 effectually keeping the aggressor at bay. The Lion is its most formidable antagonist, 

 before whose strength it frequently falls a victim. 



On the East side of the New Giraffe House are some Sheds which are at 

 present used for the accommodation of such of the larger animals as may be on 

 the sick list, either from accidents or other causes. 



