Neatorama » giraffe

Petite Lap Giraffe

Alex — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:35:56 +0000

DirectTV is pulling an Old Spice with a new series of ads featuring a creepy Russian billionaire who favors opulence and … OMG! What is that? Petite Lap Giraffe! I so want one! What are we talking about again?

The REAL Reason Giraffes Have Such Long Necks

Alex — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:57:46 +0000

Have you ever been told that the reason giraffes have such long neck is that they evolved to eat leaves on tall trees? Well, you’ve been lied to. The real reason (surprise, surprise) is sex and mating:

The latest theory – and it’s a surprise this hasn’t come up before, given biologists’ fixation with it – is that the long necks are the result of sexual selection: that is, they evolved in males as a way of competing for females.

Male giraffes fight for females by "necking". They stand side by side and swing the backs of their heads into each others’ ribs and legs. To help with this, their skulls are unusually thick and they have horn-like growths called ossicones on the tops of their heads. Their heads, in short, are battering rams, and are quite capable of breaking their opponents’ bones.

Having a long and powerful neck would be an advantage in these duels, and it’s been found that males with long necks tend to win, and also that females prefer them.

The "necks for sex" idea also helps explain why giraffes have extended their necks so much more than their legs. If giraffes evolved to reach higher branches, we might expect their legs to have lengthened as fast as their necks, but they haven’t.

Link

Previously on Neatorama: 30 Strangest Animal Mating Habits

The Strange Elegance of the Giraffe-Necked Antelope

Johnny Cat — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:34:39 +0000

Enjoy this piece on Scienceray about the wonderful Giraffe-Necked Antelope of East Africa. Just as their taller friends have evolved to get to the higher branches of green in a barren landscape, this unique species also took to the higher branches of smaller flora.

It’s also obvious, but worth pointing out ~ they’re as cute as all getout.

They will use their forelegs to pull down branches that are even higher than they are and can get to tender new leaves that other animals cannot. As a plus, the GNA does not need to drink water at all – it gets all the moisture it needs from the plants they devour.

Link |Image by Flickr user nonisense.

Giraffe Birth

Miss Cellania — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:53:08 +0000

Watch the birth of a giraffe at Safari West Wildlife Preserve in California. It was a surprise, as zookeepers did not know the mother was pregnant. Unfortunately, this video report does not show the six foot drop a baby giraffe undergoes, but he is a cute little thing …if you can call a six-foot, 130 pound baby “little”! Link

DIY Giraffe Sock Puppet

Alex — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:05:29 +0000

While we’re still in the subject of being crafty, here’s a spiffy project if you have kids (or if you’re simply young at heart): make your very own giraffe sock puppet.

Craft Jr. has the step by step guide: Link – via One Crafty Place

Fighting Giraffes

Queuebot — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:22:33 +0000

[YouTube - Link]

You’d probably think that giraffes are gentle animals by looking at them in a zoo. But in the wild, when push comes to shove, these wild animals fight and fight hard.

But have you ever thought of *how* they fight? After all, all giraffes have are their looooong necks. This clip, filmed on safari in Tanzania, will show you.

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Christophe.