MAMMALIA 



119 



5. The remarkable Giraffe Family includes only the single 

 living species {Giraffa camelopardalis) to which it owes its name, 

 and which is found in desert and semi-desert regions to the south 

 of the Sahara. The more familiar South African variety (fig. 82) 

 is marked with conspicuous brown blotches upon a tawny back- 





rig. 81.— The Wildebeest or White-tailed Gnu [Catoblepas gnu) 



ground, and this, suggesting the markings of a leopard, has given 

 rise to the alternative name of Camelopard by which the animal 

 is often known. In the variety living farther north the colours 

 are reversed, so to speak, the background being brown, but the 

 tawny hue is disposed not in patches but a close network of lines. 

 Unfortunately, it appears to be one of the many species doomed 

 to complete extinction at no distant date. 



The giraffe rejoices in the distinction of being the tallest living 

 mammal, adult bulls sometimes measuring as much 19 feet from 

 the top of the head downwards. This unusual height is partly 

 due to the great length of the neck, and partly to the relatively 



