THE GIRAFFE, OR CAMELOPARD. (162)
1. The giraffe is a native of Africa. It is of singular shape and size,
and bears some resemblance both to the camel and the deer. The mouth is
small; the eyes are full and brilliant; the tongue is rough, very long,
and ending in a point. The neck is long and slender, and, from the
shoulder to the top of the head, it measures between seven and eight feet;
from the ground to the top of the shoulder, it is commonly ten or eleven
feet; so that the height of a full-grown giraffe is seventeen or eighteen
feet.
2. The hair is of a deep brown color in the male, and of a light or
yellowish brown in the female. The skin is beautifully diversified with
white spots. They have short, blunt horns, and hoofs like those of the ox.
In their wild state, they feed on the leaves of a gum-bearing tree
peculiar to warm climates.
3. The giraffe, like the horse and other hoofed animals, defends itself by
kicking; and its hinder limbs are so light, and its blows so rapid, that
the eye can not follow them. They are sufficient for its defense against
the lion.
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