Today is World Giraffe Day and at the same time – the longest day of the year, the summer solstice! The most distinctive part of the giraffe’s body is its neck – the longest neck of any animal in the world. As we can see, there is some connection between these two features of June 21st!
1. Despite the impressive length of the neck, the giraffe’s cervical spine is made up of seven cervical vertebrae, which is the same as the necks of other mammals. The circles are just much longer than other animals.
2. A long neck keeps the giraffe’s brain far away from the heart. To ensure adequate blood supply, a giraffe’s heart pumps blood at twice the pressure of a human being – the highest pressure of any animal today. So that the blood does not flow back when the giraffe bends its head, the blood vessels in the neck are equipped with special valves in the shape of pockets.
3. The long neck is not a burden for the giraffe – its structure includes a special tendon that keeps the giraffe’s neck vertical, thus relieving the neck muscles. Surprisingly, it takes some effort for the giraffe to lower its neck because it requires the tendon to stretch.
4. ‘Necking’ is a type of fights characteristic for male giraffes. In a mild form, it may take the form of rubbing against each other with the necks, but in extreme cases it may also result in hitting each other with the necks. In this way, male giraffes compete for the favors of the female and the right to extend the species.
5.The giraffe’s neck is too short to reach the ground. If a giraffe wants to drink water, it has to spread its legs wide and then bend its neck. It is quite an uncomfortable position, so giraffes rarely drink water. They make up for its deficiencies by eating large amounts of leaves.
What is funny, because of today’s holiday, the employees of the highest Polish monument The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw measured that the building is as high as 47 giraffes! Impressive!