Meet Mr. Long Neck

Northern Advocate, 30 April 1940, Page 2

Meet Mr. Long Neck

The giraffe if asked by Red Ridinghood why he had such a long neck, might reply, “The better to dine with, my dear!” You see, while the giraffe is a vegetarian, he does not make exclusive use of the grass and lowgrowing herbage for food, as do horses, cows, antelopes, etc. Adopting a higher (relative to the ground, at least) type of edibles, the giraffe feeds on the leaves of lofty acacia and mimosa trees in the tropical African forests. It is probable that the giraffe did not always have such a long neck. The giraffe’s closest known relative, the rare okapi, has a shorter neck and leg's. Moreover, examination of the skeleton of the giraffe discloses the rather amazing fact' that, in spite of its extreme length, the giraffe’s neck has but seven bones —the same number of bones as are found in the neck of man! In the case of the giraffe, however, the bones are very much elongated. The extraordianry elongation of the neck bones is thought to be the result of thousands of years of stretching upwards for the youngest and tenderest leaves of the trees on which the giraffe feeds. The manner in which the giraffe strips the leaves from the trees is itself unusual. Instead of biting off the leaves, the giraffe wrenches them off with his long tongue! His tongue is about a foot and a half long and is classed as prehensile—that is, it is adapted to coiling and round and clinging' to objects. It is a very agile and useful member, as is the elephant’s trunk, and the top of the tongue is so slender that it can enter the hole in a latch-key. The possession of such an extremely long neck has one disadvantage, however—it makes it seem a long way down to water! When the giraffe wants to drink it has to spread its forelegs far apart in order for its head to reach the water. In olden times the giraffe was called a “camelopard,” the name being suggested by the fact that the giraffe is shaped somewhat like a camel and can go long periods without water, and because its hide is marked with spots resembling those of a leopard; but this name is no longer in general use.