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Asked by edwardf to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 14 Mar 2012.
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Adam Stevens answered on 12 Mar 2012:
I always remember a fact about giraffes and their heads – they have a special valve in their blood vessels to stop all the blood rushing to their head if they put them down!
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Leila Battison answered on 12 Mar 2012:
That’s fascinating Adam!
Still, Giraffes are pretty good at reaching things that are higher than other animals, but don’t go believeing that they evolved a long neck by stretching it just a little bit every year – evolution doesn’t work like that!
One giraffe was probably born with a freakishly long neck thousands of years ago, but though he looked weird, he was probably better at getting leaves that were out of reach of other giraffes. So he was healthier and had healthier babies that eventually outnumbered the short-necked ones!
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Catherine Rix answered on 12 Mar 2012:
Giraffes also need a big heart and high blood pressure to make sure the blood can be pumped all the way up their neck
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Nazim Bharmal answered on 14 Mar 2012:
Giraffes have strange necks, they can’t bend it so when they drink they have to spread their legs apart to get low enough. They can also use their heads like clubs when males fight each other to work out who is the dominant one. Probably they find it easiest when their heads are up and they can grab a snack from the nearest tree.
Comments
Adam commented on :
They have pretty bendy necks!