The extremely powerful giraffe
The giraffe appears to be gentle and harmless on the African savanna. The giraffe, which usually only eats leaves leisurely, is actually one of the most powerful creatures in Africa. Even the hordes of top Predators lions should also be afraid of three points, and even lions will be killed by giraffes accidentally.
Someone once photographed a pride of lions hunting a giraffe. The giraffe threw away its limbs and ran with its long legs, while the lions chased behind it. Although giraffes usually seem to like to pace slowly, when they encounter danger The running speed is not slow either, it can run 60 kilometers per hour. However, the lion can run at a speed of 82 kilometers per hour, so it has no advantage in terms of speed.
A lion ran in front of a giraffe and jumped to bite the giraffe's neck. This is a common trick of lions in hunting. They will pounce on their prey and use their The weight of the prey will overwhelm it, and then it bites the prey's neck to suffocate it to death. The giraffe's neck is very long, reaching more than 2 meters, which seems to be its weakness, but this lion made a mistake. The giraffe not only The neck is long, and its legs are also long.
Giraffes are the tallest animals on land . Female giraffes can reach 4.7 meters in height, while male giraffes are nearly 6 meters tall, as high as two stories, and a giraffe's legs account for one-third of its body. , the average length is 1.8 meters, which is equivalent to the height of an adult.
Before the lion even touched the giraffe's neck, it was knocked away by the giraffe's legs. The running giraffe did not stop, trampled on the lion mercilessly with all its limbs, and kicked it several times before running away. He got up and wanted to chase, but he was obviously injured internally and could only watch the giraffe go away.
The lion that was knocked away
The weight of a giraffe is equivalent to a small car. The female can weigh more than 1 ton, while the male weighs close to 2 tons. Coupled with the speed at which they run, this lion is said to have been hit by a car. Not to mention , and even more dangerous are the giraffe’s few kicks. The average person weighs about 60 kilograms, but the force of kicking from the side is also several hundred kilograms.
Unlike a horse which can only kick front and back, a giraffe can kick in all directions. This is because its legs are actually composed of three parts, namely the thighs, calves and soles. The part we think is the calf is actually its soles. The diameter of a giraffe's hoof reaches 30 centimeters, and its kicking force reaches 3 tons, which is enough to directly kick a lion to fracture. If it kicks a weak point such as the neck, it may be killed directly.
Although giraffes are also included in the diet of lions. Hunting a giraffe can prevent the lions from worrying about food for a week, but lions often only choose those who are old, weak, sick and disabled. Giraffes in their prime are too dangerous, if not Even if they are very hungry, the lion will not provoke them.
Giraffes who like "neck blows"
Giraffes also have a powerful weapon, which is their neck. However, this weapon is often used in fights between the same kind. After all, other animals are too short for them and want to use their necks. It's not very convenient to smash.
There are two ways for giraffes to fight. One is for both sides to lean together and use the strength of their necks to fight, just like us humans arm wrestling. This method generally does not cause any harm, but the other This is much more dangerous and is known as "neck strike".
During the breeding season, in order to compete for the favor of female giraffes, male giraffes will fight among themselves. Although giraffes have long necks, they have seven vertebrae like other mammals, but the length of each of their vertebrae is They are all over 28 centimeters, and the joints connecting these vertebrae are similar to human shoulder joints and are very flexible.
Because of their flexible necks, they can draw a semicircle with their necks, and then quickly hit them with their heads with great force.There is also a pair of horns on the head of the giraffe, called dermal horns. The outer layer is covered with skin and blood circulates inside, which can help them regulate their body temperature. Therefore, both male and female have this pair of horns on their heads.
It’s just that the horns of females and cubs are thinner and hairier. And the skin horns grow together with the giraffe's skull, so they are very strong. The giraffe will try to use this horn to attack.
Its attack method is like a meteor hammer . The neck is a chain, and the head is the body of the hammer. The skin and bone horns on the head are like spikes on the hammer. The impact is extremely powerful . Some giraffes are beaten to the point of fainting, or even suffer neck fractures during battles. Those who are lucky enough to survive may develop a "crooked neck" due to joint dislocation.
Giraffes fighting with each other
Are their long necks actually not for eating leaves?
The longer the giraffe's neck and the heavier its head, the more powerful its attack will be. In 1996, someone from the University of Cape Town published an academic paper saying that the longer the giraffe's neck, the greater its advantage in courtship competition, and the advantage of being able to feed on high leaves is only incidental. Long necks are actually the result of sexual selection.
The proposal of this theory triggered extensive discussions, because judging from the results, this speculation is not impossible. Also in 1996, our country found a place about 17 million years ago in the Gobi in Xinjiang. The fossil of a creature was found in the layer. Through studying it, it was found that the complex structure of the head and spine of this creature is very suitable for high-speed head impact. Subsequently, more and more evidence shows that it belongs to the giraffe class, and In order to compete for the affection of females, they have developed extreme morphological characteristics.
In June this year, the relevant paper was published in the internationally renowned academic journal "Science", providing strong support for the theory of sexual selection for long necks in giraffes.
The troubles of tall people
The extreme height and long neck of giraffes also give them a lot of troubles. For example, when a pregnant giraffe gives birth to a calf, the calf falls from a height of 1.5 meters as soon as it is born. If If they are unlucky, they may land head first and face death.
After they are born, they must learn to stand within 30 minutes, otherwise they will easily face danger. Although baby giraffes are 1.8 meters tall at birth, for predators such as lions, immature baby giraffes are still vulnerable to danger. It is not enough to threaten them. Although the female giraffe can attack with its hooves, it is too tall and cannot be controlled accurately. It is easy to accidentally injure the baby giraffe.
And their tall bodies also cause trouble for their sleep. Giraffes sleep for a very short time and have the lowest sleep requirements among all mammals. Giraffes only sleep for a few minutes at a time, and they will wake up immediately if there is any movement. The total sleep time of giraffes in the wild is less than 2 hours a day, while in the zoo they can sleep about 4 hours a day.
The way giraffes sleep is also quite special. Little giraffes can lie down on the ground and sleep with their heads on their buttocks. Adult giraffes can also sleep lying down, but because of their size, it is very difficult to get up after lying down, and they are easily attacked by lions and other animals. Therefore, adult giraffes usually sleep standing up, and even when sleeping, they keep their eyes open and chew leaves subconsciously, making it look like they are not sleeping.
Giraffes sleeping lying down
In addition to sleeping, giraffes' height also makes drinking water a big problem. Their legs are almost as long as their necks, so they can only spread their legs first and then lower their heads to drink water , some people will Question, don’t giraffes feel dizzy when they lower their heads to drink water? After all, the giraffe is so tall. Its heart is about 1.8 meters away from the top of its head, which means its blood pressure must be high. If their blood pressure is the same as that of ordinary animals, the blood can only reach its neck. .
When you lower your head, the blood will rush to the head and it will be difficult to return to the heart. Accumulation in the head will cause dizziness. In order to solve this problem, giraffes have many one-way valves in their veins, like a one-way road that can only go forward but not back. When a giraffe lowers its head to drink water, the muscles are continuously squeezed and relaxed to allow blood to continuously flow back to the heart.
Spreading their legs makes it difficult for them to move. At the same time, they have to control the contraction of muscles. They can't observe the surrounding environment well when they lower their heads. Giraffes are basically most vulnerable when drinking water. Lions observing from a distance may take this opportunity to rush up and attack, and there are also crocodiles in the water. Giraffes can only drink as little water as possible. They can only get water from the leaves they eat. They only go to the water to drink water when necessary.
Although giraffes' large height allows them to eat leaves at high places and gain fighting power that even lions are afraid of, it also gives them many unique troubles that other animals do not have. It is a gain and a loss.
Reference materials
"Why do giraffes have long necks" Peng Wen
"The unique body structure of giraffes" Zeng Lianrong
"Giraffes not only have long necks"
