How did the giraffe get its long neck?

Keep reading for more interesting information about giraffes' neck

A giraffe's height is an evolutionary adaptation that allows it to feed from tall trees and other sources of vegetation. The long tongue of the giraffe, which can grow to 21 inches in length, is a similar adaptation designed for reaching difficult spots.

Also see: baby giraffe

Giraffes can grow up to 19 feet in height and weigh nearly 3,000 pounds. While the giraffe's height is advantageous for eating and searching for predators, it also poses difficulty when the animal needs to drink from a watering hole. When kneeling, a giraffe must splay its legs, making the giraffe vulnerable to predators such as lions and crocodiles. Despite this, giraffes rarely need to drink and derive most of their water from vegetation.

There are two main scientific theories as to why giraffes’ necks are so tall. The first was proposed by Charles Darwin and suggests that due to intense competition from rival creatures for foliage under two metres high, giraffes’ common ancestor slowly evolved a longer neck in order to access untapped leaf reserves – with only the more successful, longer necked animals feeding efficiently. The second theory is that giraffes evolved long necks as a secondary sexual characteristic, giving males an advantage in physical combat and therefore granting access to more sexually receptive females to reproduce.

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