GIRAFFE, or CAMELOPARD (Camelopardalie Giraffe), the tallest of quadrupeds, ranked by some naturalists among deer (cervide), but more properly regarded as con stituting a distinct family of ruminants, which contains, however, only one species. It is a native of Africa, from Nubia to the cape of Good Hope, extensively diffused, but apparently nowhere abundant. It occurs generally in small herds of from five to forty. It feeds on the leaves and small branches of trees. Its general aspect is remarkable froin the height of the foreparts and great elongation of the neck, the head being some times 18 ft. from the ground. The number of vertebra in the neck, however, is not greater than in other quadrupeds, and it has no extraordinary flexibility, although its form and movements are very graceful. The body is short, and the back slopes from the shoulder to the tail; but the greater height of the foreparts is not owing, as has been often alleged, to the greater length of the forelegs, which are not really longer than the hindlegs, but to processes of the vertebra, which form a basis for the muscular support of the neck and head. The articulation of the skull to the neck is such that the head can be easily thrown back until it is in the same line with the neck, thus giving the animal additional power of reaching its appropriate food. The skull has empty cavities, which give lightness to the head, along with sufficient extent of surface for the insertion of the ligament which supports it. The legs are long and slender; the feet have cloven hoofs, hut are destitute of the small lateral toes or spurious hoofs, which occur in the other cloven-footed ruminants. The head is long; the upper lip entire, projecting far beyond the nostrils, and endowed with considerable muscular power.. The tongue is remarkably capable of elongation, and is an organ of touch and of prehension, like the 'trunk of an elephant; it can be thrust far out of the mouth, and employed to grasp and take up even very small objects; it is said that its tip can be so tapered as to enter the :ring of a very small key. The usefulness of such an organ for drawing in ,leaves and branclilets to the month is obvious. The giraffe adroitly picks off the leaves of acacias .and other thorny plants, without taking the thorns into its mouth. The dentition of
the giraffe agrees with that of antelopes, sheep, goats, and oxen ; the upper jaw of the male is destitute of the canine teeth, which are present in the male of most kinds of deer. The head is furnished with two remarkable protuberances between the cars, generally described as horns, but very different from the horns of other animals, and each con: sisting of a bone united to the skull by an obvious suture, permanent, covered with skin and hair, and terminated by long hard bristles. There is also a projection on the fore head. The ears are moderately long: the tail is long, and terminates in a tuft of long hair that nearly reaches the ground. There is a callosity on the breast. The neck has a very short mane. The hair is short and smooth; the color is a reddish white, marked by numerous dark rusty spots. The eye of the giraffe is very large and lustrous, and so placed that the animal can look all around without turning its head, so that in a wild state it is not easily approached. Its nostrils have a muscle by which they can be closed; a provision, as Owen supposes, for excluding particles of sand. It is an inoffensive animal, and generally seeks safety, if possible, in flight, although it is capable of making. a stout resistance, and is said to beat off the lion. It fights by kicking with its hind legs, discharging a storm of kicks with extraordinary rapidity. It is not easily:over taken even by a fleet horse, and has greatly the advantage of a horse on uneven and broken ground. Its pace is described as an amble, the legs of the same side moving at the same time. The giraffe was known to the ancients, and was exhibited in Roman, spectacles. Representations of it appear among Egyptian antiquities. It has been sup posed to be the zemer of the Jews, translated chamois in the English Bible (Dent. xiv. 5). In the year 1836, giraffes were added to the collection in the zoological ,gardens of Lou don, and interesting of studying their habits have since been enjoyed. 'They are fed chiefly on hay placed in high racks, greatly enjoy carrots and onions, and .a lump of sugar is a favorite delicacy. They have brad in England. The flesh of the giraffe is said to be pleasant, and its marrow is a favorite African delicacy.