THE GIRAFFE. 569 



THE GIRAFFE. 



The GIRAFFE, Camclopardalis girafa (Plate XLIII), is the only repre- 

 sentative of the family. The enormously long neck, the tall legs, the 

 finely formed head with large, beautiful clear eyes, and two peculiar 

 cranial excrescences covered with skin, are its leading characteristics. 

 Its total length is about seven feet and a half, but its height to the 

 shoulder is fully ten feet, and to the head eighteen to twenty feet. The 

 tail, including the tuft of hair at its termination, is about forty inches 

 long. From the muzzle to the root of the tail the distance is nearly 

 fourteen feet. The weight is about one thousand one hundred pounds. 

 These proportions alone are striking, but its construction is as remark- 

 able as its size. The Giraffe seems made out of portions of different 

 animals. The head and body resemble those of the horse ; the neck and 

 shoulders, those of the camel ; the ears, those of the ox ; the tail, that of 

 the ass ; the legs are imitations of those of the antelope ; the color and 

 markings are borrowed from the panther. The result naturally is, a 

 certain want of symmetry. The short body is out of proportion with 

 the neck and legs ; the sloping back is no beauty ; even its height does 

 not give it grace. The head is beautiful, the eyes wonderful, the mark- 

 ings agreeable ; but the whole is peculiar. 



Tne eyes of the Giraffe are large, vivacious, brilliant, and yet soft ; 

 they are spiritual eyes. The ears are well-formed, and very movable. 

 Between the two cranial developments which are commonly called 

 horns is a round protuberance, almost like a third horn. The neck is 

 as long as the fore-legs. It is thin, and adorned with a mane, but pos- 

 sesses only seven vertebra;, the same number as is found in ordinary 

 animals. The body is broad at the chest, the withers much higher than 

 the rump ; the almost vertical shoulder-blades are very distinct. The 

 legs are of almost equal length ; it is to the elongation of the shoulder- 

 blades that the height of the fore-quarters is due. The hoofs are small 

 and fine. On the knee-joints are callosities like those of the camel. The 

 skin is very thick and very smooth, except the mane, the tail-tuft, and 

 two tufts of dark hair, which adorn the " horns." The ground color of 

 the coat is a sand-yellow, becoming darker on the back, and passing into 

 white on the belly ; on this ground are placed large, irregular, angular 

 spots of a brownish color, so closely arranged that the yellow tints 

 appear like network. These marks are smaller on the neck and limbs. 

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