Okay. I'll be honest. I don't love giraffes as much as I love cheetahs. But they are still pretty cool. Here are some weird things you never wanted to know about giraffes:
- Generally speaking, for every foot a giraffe is tall, its tongue will be one inch long. So an eighteen-foot-tall giraffe will have an eighteen-inch-long tongue.
- Giraffes have black/ purple tongues. It's freaky. The theory is that it serves as sun protection, since they spend so much of their day eating!
- Giraffe spit is extra sticky. It helps coat the thorns of their favorite food, the thorny acacia, which is a very cool looking green-barked tree, that's covered in 2-3" long thorns.
- Giraffes have seven neck bones, just like humans. But theirs are all ten inches long, hence the six-foot-neck!
- When a giraffe baby is born, Mama Giraffe doesn't lay down. She gives birth-- standing up! Baby has a six-foot fall ahead of him, which shocks him into taking a breath.
I DO! Though most of these facts are a bit icky, to be honest (but I still like them). That's cool their tongue length is determined by their height. I guess that's (sort of) similar to a human's foot is the same length as his/her forearm? Or maybe that's a myth
ReplyDeleteWHOA. This is now officially my favorite blog series ever. ANIMALS ARE AWESOME. More insider zoo tips!!
ReplyDeleteA giraffe is the only pet I'd ever consider owning!
ReplyDelete