Since then specimens have often been brought from Africa for exhibition in menageries, both in England and in our own country.
When full-grown the giraffe is from sixteen to seventeen feet high. This is nearly three times as tall as a man. The long neck of the animal enables it to reach the tops of trees, from which it gathers the leaves as its chief food.
It has a long, slender tongue, which it can extend far out of its mouth to draw down leaves and branches within its reach.
Two short horns grow between its ears. These are not like those of an ox, but are merely bones covered with a hairy skin.
The giraffe has rather a short body. The front legs are longer than the hind legs, so that the body is higher in front than behind. The back forms a decided slope from the neck to the tail. The legs are slender, while the feet are cleft, like those of an ox. The skin is of a light reddish-orange color, marked with large spots of a decidedly darker shade, and covered with short hairs. Upon the neck is a long mane, and at the end of the tail is a tuft of black hair.
African travelers state that the giraffe, when found in a wild state, is much handsomer than when kept in captivity. In a wild state the color of the skin changes its tints in strong lights and shades, as the animal moves about.
The giraffe has eyes more beautiful even than those of the gazelle, according to some writers. It can see to a great distance and has a keen sense of smell. When the wind is blowing towards it, it can scent a hunter a long way off. For this reason it is very difficult for a hunter to approach it. Sometimes he conceals himself behind tall grass and bushes; but he is often discovered there by the giraffe, for its tall neck enables it to look over almost any bush.
The giraffe, like the camel, has an awkward gait, since it moves both legs on one side of its body at a time, as a horse does in pacing. It can run very fast, and only a very swift horse is ever able to overtake it. It usually lives in families of a dozen or more. The home is generally along the edges of the deserts. Instinct seems to teach the animal to make its home where it can see in all directions and be on the watch for its enemies, the lion and the panther.
In the open country the giraffe can usually get away by running; but should it be attacked in the woods, it strikes out for its foe with great force from its fore feet. The blow often disables or kills its enemy, though sometimes the giraffe is overpowered and killed.
The Hottentots lie in ambush around the haunts of the giraffe, chiefly where it has watering places. They kill it by means of poisoned arrows. The flesh is eaten, and the thick skin is made into cups, leather bottles, and straps.