Giraffes are the tallest mammals on the planet today. These animals reach from 4 to 6 meters in height and have an unusually beautiful and unique color. Even in one herd, you will not find two individuals with the same pattern or coat shade.
Giraffes live both in the wild and in captivity. The period of life is from 25 to 28 years. The main habitat for them is the African savannah, some species, in particular the reticulated giraffe, are found in Somalia and the woodlands of Kenya.
These animals are amazing in many ways, starting with their size and unusual structure, ending with details that not even everyone knows about.
It's not just size, coloration, and small, furry horns that make giraffes special. The giraffe sleeps only while standing, while running, it develops a speed of up to 50 km / h, and the newborn calf falls from a height of more than 2 meters.
Blue muscle
For example, the tongue of a giraffe is unique: it is a huge and strong muscle, reaching up to 45 centimeters in length. The color of the tongue is unusual - it is completely blue, sometimes purple.
The length of the giraffe's tongue has long puzzled researchers. The long neck of the animal allowed him to pluck the leaves of acacia, a favorite delicacy in the savannah, even from the very top of the tree, so there was no need to additionally reach out with his tongue for food.
However, as it turned out, the tongue has an excellent grasping reflex, literally twisting into a spiral when food hits the mucous membrane, it is able to bend around the huge protective thorns of plants and, tearing off, hold the juicy leaves literally with its very tip.
The ability to delicately control your own language often saves the life of a giraffe in a drought, because the lower leaves and grass are actively eaten by undersized animals, ready to cruelly defend their right to survival. The giraffe gets only those leaves that no one else can get.
Structural features
The color of giraffes is not repeated, it is akin to human fingerprints.
The blue color is due to the unusual structure of the animal itself. Due to its high growth, the giraffe's circulatory system is overloaded, the heart of this mammal is incredibly strong and provides the body with pressure almost three times higher than that of a human. At the same time, the blood of a giraffe is very thick, the density of blood cells is twice that of a person, and in addition, there is a special valve in the cervical vein that interrupts the blood flow to maintain a stable pressure in the main artery. Thus, we can conclude that the blood vessels in his tongue are denser and darker than usual, and instead of the reddish tint of the mucous membranes, a dark, almost purple, is obtained.
It must be said that the giraffe's blood is also significantly different in appearance from the usual. Due to the high content of red blood cells and active oxygen compounds in the blood, the blood is dark, almost claret. That is why not only the tongue has a specific color, but also the internal organs of the giant.
