218 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE GIRAFFE, 
towards the nose, and the nasal bones are singularly prolonged, 
almost to deformity. The muzzle and lips are those of the horse, 
rather than the camel or deer : the principal peculiarities of its 
conformation are the length of its fore legs, the elevation of its 
withers, and the extent of its neck, which are out of all proportion 
to the other parts. Some are said to have been no less than 
twenty feet high, from the crown of the head to the sole. The 
larger one in the British Museum measures seventeen feet in height: 
His Majesty’s was not more than twelve feet high; but it was 
young when brought into this country, its growth was stinted by 
constant disease, and the distortion of its limbs materially 
lessened its apparent stature. 
The natural motion of the Giraffe is a kind of amble, with the 
neck extended, and the animal, as may be imagined from his 
form, is far from being swift. Progression depends chiefly on 
the hinder quarters, which are singularly short and deficient in 
this animal. The nostril narrow, compared with the bulk of the 
animal, and the lengthened windpipe are incompatible with speed. 
The natural food of the animal is pointed out by his form. 
Although the neck is of great length, the height of the fore¬ 
quarters prevents the possibility of his reaching the ground with 
his muzzle, and therefore he browses on the leaves and suc¬ 
culent branches of trees. The Sandpit Giraffe was chiefly fed 
on barley, hay, and the shoots and branches of the acacia tree, 
and other species of the mimosa. It preferred almost every 
species of green food to that which was dry, and ate it with 
avidity. Its little appetite for water seemed to fit it for the arid 
country whence it came. It consumed about two quarts only 
daily. At times, it would not drink for a day or two, and after¬ 
wards would eagerly swallow a larger quantity. 
The thoracic and abdominal viscera were carefully examined, 
and closely resembled those of the deer. The liver was rather 
small, divided into two principal lobes, and without a gall-bladder, 
but the biliary duct was very large. A description of the tongue 
and the stomachs, with accurate drawings, will be published by 
Sir Everard Home. 
The length of the intestines was 156 feet, seventy of which 
were occupied by the colon, ceecum, and rectum: the two former 
had none of the longitudinal bands, puckering them into nu¬ 
merous cells, as in the horse, nor were they so capacious as in 
that animal; but the colon diminishing in size, and formed 
several circular convolutions on the left side of the abdomen. 
The skin has been admirably preserved and stuffed by Mr. 
Gould, of the Zoological Society. The skeleton also is in a state 
of forwardness, and will be the only perfect one in this country. 
