Topless models? No, but there seems to be a pervert.

Giraffe in the Kalahari Gemsbok Park.

Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

More photos and odd facts about the long stretch of an animal;

It is the tallest animal and ruminant. and the name is derived from its almost camel look.

Giraffe see in colour, according to the experts, I always wonder about such statements as how the hell do they know, and do some suffer from colour blindness.??

This I do know, it only has 7 neck bones and have ball and socket joints.. and the top vertebra is unique in that it allows the head to tilt directly upward.. the young are born with shorter necks, that develop quickly to give it length… can you imagine being a Giraffe mother giving birth to young that’s neck was full length… the neck muscles are extremely strong.. having to be able to hold the neck up and if you ever see them fighting, it’s all in the neck…

One other interesting fact, the mother gives the final birth of her young standing… so little giraffe fall into the world and surprisingly stand up very quickly, staggering a lot, but not long after birth, it’s ready to run with Mom to escape predators…

As the Giraffe is a ruminant, it has to regurgitate its feed from the stomach back to the mouth for rumination… firstly all that way down.. then back up for a re chew… fascinating…

Blood pressure seems controlled with tighter and thicker skin on the legs restricting too big a build up… much like a G flight suit for pilots…

 

The Giraffe.

One of my favourite animals that fascinates me beyond words… the giraffe… It stands 5–6 m (16–20 ft.) tall and has an average weight of 1,600 kg (3,500 lb.) for males and 830 kg (1,800 lb.) for females.

Despite its long neck and legs, the giraffe’s body is relatively short. Located at both sides of the head, the giraffe’s large, bulging eyes give it good all-round vision from its great height. Giraffes see in colour and their senses of hearing and smell are also sharp. The animal can close its muscular nostrils to protect against sandstorms and ants. The giraffe’s prehensile tongue is about 50 cm (20 in) long. It is purplish-black in colour, and is useful for grasping foliage, as well as for grooming and cleaning the animal’s nose. The upper lip of the giraffe is also prehensile and useful when foraging. The lips, tongue and inside of the mouth are covered in papillae to protect against thorns.

A giraffe has only two speeds: walking and galloping. Walking is done by moving the legs on one side of the body at the same time, then doing the same on the other side. When galloping, the hind legs move around the front legs before the latter move forward, and the tail will curl up. The animal relies on the forward and backward motions of its head and neck to maintain balance and the counter momentum while galloping. The giraffe can reach a sprint speed of up to 60 km/h (37 mph), and can sustain 50 km/h (31 mph) for several kilometres.

There is just too much to tell you about this ungainly looking animal that is a marvel of nature…

I love this photo above… “whatcu doing?”

and below a big male..

Giraffe in silhouette…

An early morning game drive, deliver up these photos. with the Kruger Gate opening before sunrise, the first encounter we had was this giraffe. I took the shots not knowing what to expect… for that matter not even giving much thought to camera settings. It was such a beautiful sight to see this lone giraffe having an early morning snack… I hardly remembered these photos taken last year and came across them last night when paging through photos, looking for those that I had taken of Bushbuck… I just felt that today I should share them…

Ever Had one of these look Down on you??????

The giraffe, if he’s not looking down at you… you’re one very tall human being…. This ones from the flower power days, chewing on a flower of sorts…