Ruth Dille, age 11, of Visalia, Calif., for her question:
WHY DOES A GIRAFFE HAVE SUCH A LONG NECK?
The stately giraffe belongs to Africa, and we only get a chance to see him in a zoo. Then we lean back with mouth agape, as our eyes travel up his long legs and even longer neck. From his hoofs to the button type horns on his handsome head, he may stand more than 18 feet tall which makes him the tallest animal in the world.
The giraffe's skyscraper neck may be 6 feet or so long. Yet it is supported by only seven vertebra bones, the same number as in the neck of a horse or cow. Nevertheless, it is a very supple neck and useful for all sorts of maneuvers. In fact, the giraffe could not survive without it on the semiarid plains of Africa. At least not without changing his entire lifestyle.
Perhaps it is most useful at feeding time, for the giraffe's favorite food is the boughs of fairly tall acacia trees. His neck enables him to reach up high with no trouble at all. Often a traveler can tell where the tall fellow has been, for the trees have hourglass waists, high above the ground.
A giraffe gathers the prickly acacia twigs in his mobile lips, curving his long supple neck to avoid scratches. When grass is plentiful, he bends his head to graze and he also must bend down to drink. His neck is not quite long enough to enable his head to touch the ground. He solves this problem by spreading his front legs and may even sink to his knees.
He travels around with a group of friends and relatives, and they live in lion territory. He defends himself with mighty kicks of his hard hooves and the average lion hesitates to attack an adult giraffe. Nevertheless, it is wise to stay on the safe side of trouble. The giraffe's eyes are high on his head, and now and then he pauses to survey the scenery. His long neck enables him to see far and wide in all directions. When he spots a prowling lion, the whole herd takes off in a cloud of dust.
A baby giraffe stands 6 feet tall, and his mother may twine her supple neck around him to show affection. Adult giraffes often twine their necks around each other, though nobody is sure why. This strange necking game usually is between a pair of adult males, and it often gets quite rough. Perhaps this is the way they bash each other around to decide which rival is the boss.