GIRAFFfc. 
227 
singular form gives them, at a distance, the ap- 
pearance of decayed trees ; and this is not a little 
aided by their colour, which is a reddish white, 
marked with numerous large rusty spots. 
They are of a mild and timid disposition. When 
pursued, they trot so fast, that even a good horse 
is scarcely able to keep pace with them, and they 
continue their course for a long time without re- 
quiring rest. When they leap, they lift first the 
for j legs, and then the hinder ones, in the manner 
of a horse whose fore legs are tied together. Their 
general position, except when grazing, is with the 
head and neck erect. They feed principally on the 
leaves of trees, and particularly on those of a pe- 
culiar species of mimosa, common in the country 
where they are found, to which the extreme length 
of their legs and neck admirably adapt them. 
When they feed from the ground, they are under 
the necessity of dividing their fore legs to a con- 
siderable distance. In preparing to lie down, they 
kneel like the camel. 
It has been generally supposed that the giraffe 
possessed neither the power nor the strength to de- 
fend itself against the attacks of other animals ; 
this, however, seems to be unfounded ; for M. le 
Vaillant has asserted, that by its kicks, it fre- 
quently wearies, discourages, and distances, even 
the lion. The utility of the horns appears to he 
hitherto unknown ; this writer says, that they are 
not used as weapons of defence. 
The giraffe is never seen near the coasts of Africa, 
confining itself entirely to the interior recesses of 
the forests, whence it is never taken alive except 
when young. From divers accounts that have 
been left to us, it seems to have been known to the 
ancients. Heliodorus, the Greek bishop of Sicca, 
mentions it particularly in his time, and his der» 
