GIRAFFE, ji-ritff (formerly also jaraff, from Fr. giraffe, from Sp., Port. girafa, from Ar. zard fat, giraffe, from zerafa, to walk slowly), or CAMELOPARD. The tallest of quadrupeds (Giraffe eamelopardalis), constituting a distinct family of ruminants, Giraffiche. It is a native of Africa, formerly extensively diffused from Nubia to the Cape of Good Hope, though apparently nowhere abundant. It is now nearly extinct south of the Zambesi River and east of the Kalahari Desert, and numerous only in the remote in terior, where it frequents arid plains. It occurs generally in small herds of from five to forty, and feeds on the leaves and small branches of trees. Its general aspect is remarkable because of the height of the fore parts and great elonga tion of the neck, the head being sometimes eigh teen feet from the ground. The number of vertebrce in the neck is seven, no greater than in other quadrupeds, and the neck has no ex traordinary flexibility, but its length is produced by an elongation, elsewhere unknown, of each vertebra. The body is short, and the back slopes from the shoulder to the tail; but the greater height of the fore parts is not owing to the length of the fore legs, which are not really longer than the hind legs, but to processes of the vertebrae which form a basis for the muscular support of the neck and head, and make a hump on the shoulders. The articulation of the skull to the neck is such that the head can easily be 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 ex tent of surface for the insertion of the ligament which supports it. The legs are long and slender; the feet have cloven hoofs, but are destitute of small lateral toes. The head is long; the upper lip entire, projecting far beyond the nos trils, and endowed with considerable muscular power. The tongue is remarkably capable of elongation, and can be thrust far out of the mouth, and employed to grasp and take up very small objects; and by it and the mobile lips, the animal obtains its food, which consists almost wholly of the leaves and twigs of mimosa trees. The dentition of the giraffe is bovine, but the upper jaw has no canine teeth. The head is furnished with two remarkable protuberances between the ears, generally described as 'horns,' and consisting of a bone united to the skull by an obvious suture, permanent, covered with skin and hair, and terminated by long hard bristles. The nearest analogue is the horn-core of the pronghorn. 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, red dish white, marked by numerous dark rusty spots.
The eye of the giraffe is very large, lustrous, and commands a wide angle of vision; and the nostrils have a muscle by which they can be closed against blowing sand. It is an inoffen sive animal, and generally seeks safety in imme diate flight, although it is capable of making a stout resistance, and 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 a gallop, the hind legs reaching ahead and astride of the fore feet at every leap. Wise hunters who attempt to pur sue giraffes at all on horseback try to push them so hard at first as to get them 'blown.' after which they can drive them steadily toward camp; otherwise the giraffe may gallop for miles. They are exceedingly keen of smell and hearing, see well, and are game that tax the skill of good sportsmen; yet great numbers have recently been killed for their hides.
The giraffe was known to the ancients, and was exhibited in Roman spectacles. Representa tions of it appear among Egyptian antiquities. It has been supposed to be the zemer of the Jews, translated chamois in the English Bible (Deut. xiv. 5). Giraffes are among the rarest and most valuable animals in captivity, although they will thrive well with proper care. In 1892 the last giraffe in the gardens of the London Zoological Society died, and for the first time since 1836 the animal was not on exhibi tion in London; the secretary of the society reported that he saw no immediate prospect of obtaining a living specimen. They have bred in Europe.
A second quite distinct species of giraffe has lately been discovered among those remaining in South Africa, named Giraffe australis. The principal characteristics of the new form (consult De \Vinton, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1897, p. 273) are the large size of the median horn, and a generally larger size. More over, a brief description has been given by Sir Henry Johnson of a more brilliantly colored gi raffe, existing in Uganda, which Beddard (Mani, malia, 1902), thinks will probably prove to belong to a distinct genus, as it has five horns, the ad ditional pair being placed above the ears. The okapi (q.v.) is also a genus of giraffes.