1. The Egyptian hieroglyph for giraffe means ‘to prophesy’ or ‘to foretell’. Experts believe the animal was given this hieroglyph because of its acute eyesight.
2. An adult giraffe’s purplish black tongue is prehensile and measures 67 centimetes.
3. While giraffes are often silent, they are not mute. They can make bleating and bellowing noises that we can hear and also make sounds at frequencies not audible to us.
4. Ola Helland, a 25-year-old web designer, was out drinking when his friend, Jørgen, refused to believe that Ola could collect a million giraffes by the end of 2010, but Ola proved him wrong.
5. Each giraffe has a unique coat pattern.
6. The giraffe has seven vertebrae in its neck, just like most other mammals.
7. Giraffes have elastic blood vessels in their necks to help them lean their heads down to drink. If they didn’t they’d pass out each time they tried to get water from a stream.
8. If you dream about a giraffe it means you need to consider the big picture. The dream may also be a metaphor for how you are ‘sticking your neck out’ for someone. If you’re riding a giraffe, you want attention, but aren't getting it.
9. Giraffes have no tear ducts – but people have seen them cry.
10. Even though they appear lanky, a giraffe's legs are very powerful and a single kick can decapitate a lion.
11. The Toys ‘R’ us giraffe mascot is called Geoffrey.
12. A giraffe eats about 64 kilos of foliage a day.
13. A giraffe's favorite food is the thorny acacia tree and some seeds germinate only after passing through the giraffe's digestive tract.
14. Giraffe’s have antiseptic saliva that helps thorn-inflicted wounds on their tongues to heal quickly.
15. Last year, police in Oregon, USA, saw drunken Sean McDowell, 24, pick up a 1.3 metre tall toy giraffe outside a shop and simulate sex with it. Twice. Maybe he had struck out with all the women at the bar and this giraffe was looking pretty good.
16. Giraffes sleep for between 20 minutes and two hours a day.
17. There are nine giraffe species.
18. In Africa you can still find giraffe meat on some menus (for example, red wine giraffe steak with tomatoes and fresh herbs).
19. Giraffes don’t bathe.
20. If you want to catch a giraffe, don’t chase it for too long or it will have a heart attack, due to its high blood pressure.
Image: Gidion Lubbe
hahaha :) The Toys ‘R’ us giraffe mascot is called Geoffrey :)
ReplyDeleteDefinately a quiet day in the world...
ReplyDeleteWonder if they wear socks?
The rothschild giraffe does wear socks, but they're white, so I reckon they're pretty safe.
ReplyDelete