Page 38 - The World of Animals

GIRAFFES: LIKE

SPECKLED TOWERS

Often reaching a height of five to six metres (15-20 feet), you could

find a resemblance between giraffes and speckled towers. The longest
part of a giraffe is its neck. Its long neck enables it to reach the

remotest branches on trees and feed by grazing on the sprouts and
leaves. These thorny plants, which the giraffes don't chew, first go

directly into their four-compartment stomach. Then they regurgitate
them back to the mouth, where the giraffe chews them. Finally, they

swallow them again and send them to
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another compartment in their

stomach.
However, there is something

very interesting about this
process. As we have recently

mentioned, giraffes regurgitate
thorny plants from their stomachs

back to their mouths to be
chewed. But, as you may

imagine, this is rather a long
journey. The food needs to travel

a distance of three or four metres
(10-13 feet) in the long neck of

the giraffe. As you can also