Terry Vaughan, aged 11, of Spokane, Washington for hisquestion:

Why can't giraffes make sounds?

Some people do a great deal of talking. They gab from morning until night, sad to say, these gabbers seldom have anything very sensible to say. Sensible talk comes from sensible thoughts. And sensible thoughts. need time to work themselves out.

There are also gabby ones in the animal kingdom. Puppies often bark j4st to hear themselves talk. Sensible dogs bark only when they have something to say. Some little birds seem to chirp and twitter for no good reason. Though most birds sing to fill the air with joyful music. Bull frogs burb to make frog harmony in the ponds ‑ which seems a good reason to them.

Then there are the quiet members of the animal kingdom. We tend to think of some of these quiet ones have no voie‑as ‑at all but a rabbit has nothing to say. But he can cry out when he is hurt. A giraffe is so quiet that most people think he cannot talk at all.

This is not true. A giraffe has a voice, though he seldom uses it. He can say all that a sensible giraffe needs to say. When he does it is something of a mystery, even to the experts. We use our vocal cords for talking. So do most animals. But many giraffes have only undeveloped vocal cords. Yet they can make sounds.

The whole giraffe family can speak when necessary. They can make cattle sounds. They have been heard to groan, grunt, moo and blare ‑when necessary.

Usually the giraffe has no reason to utter sounds. He is fairly safe in his native African flat land.  He is the tallest of all animals and he can run like a graceful dancer. He can see danger from far away. He can run and dodge through the trees. His dabbled coat matches the dappled sunshine through the leaves. He need only stay still to remain hidden.

Lions may attack Papa Giraffe when he goes to drink. His legs are so long that he must straddle wide to reach the water. This leaves his long neck open to attack. When he is attacked he will holler in grunts, moans and moos.

Mama Giraffe is like all good mothers. She tends to worry when Junior strays too far from her aide. Then she calls him back to safety. She has a low mooing call rather like that of a mother cow.

Junior himself has the noisiest volce in the family. Like all young fellows he can set up a howl when he gets into trouble. He moos, bleats and yells like a steer. However, most of the time the giraffe family has nothing to bay at all.