A HUMMING CAMEL LEOPARD!
by J.E. Rogers
by J.E. Rogers
They are
the tallest terrestrial animal, they are magnificent and graceful, and the 'hum.' They are the
giraffe.
The giraffe’s
species name comes from the Latin ‘camelopardalis,’ which means ‘camel marked
like a leopard.’ That makes sense to me. The blotches on their coat, which are
leopard-like in appearance, help to camouflage them while they are feeding in
the dappled sunlight beneath acacia trees.
According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation,
there were an estimated 140,000 giraffes in African in 1999, but the number has
declined to less than 80,000 giraffes today. All species of giraffes are
considered endangered.
Photo credit: San Diego
Zoo
These populations numbers tells us that the giraffe may not
be endangered according to the IUCN's required factors, but it certainly is in
trouble. Efforts by the IUCN* are
underway to determine a more accurate count of the giraffe population, and what
is needed to be done to ensure that the numbers do not decline further. One important fact you need to understand is
that this population count includes ALL subspecies of giraffes.
And speaking of species, after
researching giraffe species, I came to the conclusion that there is controversy relative to their number. I read that there are as many as nine different
species (http://www.giraffeworlds.com/category/species/ ). I have also have
read that scientists recently decided that there are only four species of giraffe. Below is a list of the four. I have a feeling that discussions about the number
of species may continue.
- The Southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffe
- The Northern giraffe (G. Camelopardalis) aka. Rothschild’s giraffe
- The Reticulated giraffe (G. reticulate)
- The Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi)
Photo credit: Martin Harvey/Alamy Stock Photo
Poaching,
human population growth, and habitat loss continue to have an effect on the giraffe’s
numbers on the continent of Africa. The map you see below shows the populations
of subspecies of giraffes. The populations are fragmented, and this
is also a contributing factor to the giraffe's decline.
Photo Credit – IUCN
Species of giraffe are different from one another relative to their fur patterns and coloration. You can
see the different patterns and colors in the below illustration.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Photo credit: Steve Robinson Arkive.org
The
patterns on the giraffe's coat is mainly for camouflage. However, underlying the
patterns, there is a cooling mechanism. Beneath the patches of
color on their fur, is an intricate network of tiny blood vessels that help to
cool the animal by releasing body heat. Those intricate patterns of blood vessels seem to match the patches of color.
Photo credit: giraffeconservation.org
So why do they have such a long neck? Evolution has
favored, over thousands of years, the giraffes with the longer neck. That longer
necked giraffe was able to reach the leaves on a tree that others could not.
It became a characteristic that helped the giraffe to survive and they passed on
that characteristic to future generations.
Photo credit:
pagersource.com
Not only
does their long neck help them reach their meal, but they also use their
superior height to keep an eye on their surroundings. They are tall sentinels watching
for predators across the African savanna.
The
males have developed a ritualized ‘necking’ behavior, which helps them to
establish dominance over other males. They butt heads and wrap their necks
around their rival with powerful swings. They aim for their rival’s neck and
underbelly to deliver powerful blows until one of them backs down. These blows
can be so strong that their impact has been known to knock an animal
unconscious.
A giraffe also has a powerful and long tongue. It is blue and prehensile. The tongue can be
18-20 inches long, and the giraffe uses it to twist the leaves off of the tops
of trees. It has been suggested that the dark color of the tongue protects it
from the sun.
Photo Credit: AreionPaulse – Deviantart.com
The giraffe
can consume up to 75 pounds of leaves in a day. Their grazing and ‘trimming’ of
the trees on the African savannah has caused the trees to grow into a very
particular shape. The below video will explain this in a bit
more depth.
Giraffes get most of their moisture from what they eat, and as a result, unlike many of the other mammals in Africa, the giraffe does not migrate. Instead, it lives in loose social groups which do not contain permanent members.
One last
interesting tidbit. I mentioned at the beginning of this post that giraffes 'hum.' Scientist Angela Stöger noticed a strange humming sound
coming from the giraffe enclosures in European zoos. This was unusual because
it has been determined that giraffes cannot make sounds due to the difficulty
of pushing air through that long neck of theirs. Nevertheless, they were
humming. Could it be they are snoring, or dreaming, or could it be that they
are communicating with one another. To read more about it click HERE.
To hear the humming, click HERE.
For more
information visit the following sites:
Thanks also
to all my readers for visiting. Hope you enjoyed this week’s post and that
you’ll return again next week.
*IUCN =
International Union for Conservation of Nature
Enjoy!
Jeanne E.
Rogers, Award Winning Author
The Sword of
Demelza, The Gift of Sunderland
and
One Hot Mess, A
Child’s Environmental Fable
Where Endangered
Animal Heroes Roam the Pages!
To learn
more about me, visit my ‘author page’ on Amazon: http://bit.ly/authorJERogers
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