Hobbies And Interests
Description
Along with its dexterity, the most impressive characteristic of the giraffe's tongue is its length. Fully extended, it may stretch 18 or 20 inches long. It is a deep blue- or purple-black in hue, a dark coloration that may protect it from sunburn, according to the San Diego Zoo. Covered in tough, tiny bumps, the tongue, like the rubbery lips, is tough-skinned enough to navigate the impressive thorns of acacia trees.
Use
Giraffes employ their prehensile tongues to browse. Browsing animals target the foliage of trees and shrubs, while grazing species mainly eat grasses, forbs and other groundcover greenery. No other herbivore in Africa save the elephant can access the height of foliage the giraffe can. Already situated at a lofty level thanks to its stature, the giraffe gains further height thanks to its flexible skull and 1.5-foot tongue. Feeding mainly on acacias and bushwillows, giraffes may run their tongues along a twig to strip off its leaves or gingerly pluck foliage on a thorn-studded branch.
Feeding
The leaves that a giraffe's tongue snares are efficiently digested. Giraffes are ruminants like deer or buffalo, meaning they possess multi-chambered stomachs to process their tough cellulose-based diet. The digestive procedure involves the chewing of the partly digested cud passed up into the mouth, then swallowed again. They may spend good portions of a night ruminating, though under a bright moon they continue to browse, according to Richard D. Estes in "A Behavior Guide to African Mammals." Giraffes may consume more than 70 lbs. of forage a day. Estes notes that giraffe cows tend to target more nutritious leaves than bulls.
Browsing Ecology
Because of the sexual dimorphism of the species -- bulls are notably taller than cows -- there is a segregation in browsing levels and geography between the genders. Bulls may feed in the canopy top, while cows often nibble on saplings and shrubs. Because they are both taller and less vulnerable to predators like lions, bulls are more likely than cows to enter dense, mature groves of loftier trees. The distinct wet and dry seasons of the tropical savannas and woodlands giraffes inhabit impact all plant-eating creatures; like many other browsers and grazers, giraffes range more widely in the wet season when vegetation is lush, then concentrate on riparian gallery forests and other moist environments during the annual drought.