tallest land animal on earth

The tallest land animal on earth is the giraffe. The giraffe is a ruminant cloven-hoofed animal that lives in Africa. Its Latin name means "leopard-skinned camel." They are the tallest living land animals in the world. When standing, it can reach 6-8 meters from head to toe, weighing about 700 kilograms, and the newborn cubs are 1.5 meters tall; the color and pattern of the fur are spotted and reticulated, the forehead of the head is wide, the snout is pointed, and the ears are Large and erect, with a pair of short bony horns on the top of the head, covered with skin and hair; the neck is particularly long (about 2 meters), with a row of bristles on the back of the neck; the body is short; the limbs are tall and strong, with the forelimbs slightly longer than the hind limbs. , the hooves are wide and large; the tail is short and has a black tuft at the end. The teeth are primitive low-crowned teeth, which cannot feed on grass but only leaves. The tongue is long and can be used for feeding. It has a short horn, which is covered with hairy skin.

Because the giraffe's legs are too long, it is very inconvenient for the giraffe to drink water. They have to spread their front legs or kneel on the ground to drink water, and they are very vulnerable to attacks from other animals when drinking water, so giraffes living in groups often do not drink water together.

Giraffes' height requires them to have higher blood pressure than ordinary animals, because only in this way can the heart pump blood "far away" to the brain. A giraffe's blood pressure is about three times that of an adult. Because giraffes have high necks, when they lower their heads, the valves behind their ears regulate blood pressure and prevent it from getting too high.

The giraffe's tongue is 40 centimeters long, blue-black, and its lips are thin and flexible. It can easily avoid the dense long thorns on the outside of the plant, and eat the leaves hidden in the inner layer, the sticky saliva on the tongue, and the tongue and lips. There is also a layer of tough horny ridges that may prevent punctures from black locust trees.

The giraffe has a pair of big brown eyes, which are protruding and can rotate around. It has a wide field of vision. With its tall body, it is like a living "lookout" and can see what's going on in the distance.

Giraffes sleep very little, usually only two hours a night, and sleep can sometimes put them at risk. Giraffes spend most of their time sleeping standing up, usually in a state of false drowsiness. Because their necks are too long, giraffes often rest their heads on branches when sleeping to prevent their necks from getting too tired. When giraffes enter the sleep stage, they, like elephants, also need to lie down and rest. This stage lasts about 20 minutes. However, it takes a full minute for giraffes to stand up from the ground, which greatly reduces their ability to escape while sleeping. Therefore, it is very dangerous for giraffes to lie down to sleep. They sleep standing up more often. When a giraffe sleeps on its stomach, its two front legs and one hind leg are bent under its belly, and the other hind leg is stretched out to the side. Next to the hind leg, the chin is close to the calf. Giraffes are very timid. This scientific sleeping position can not only narrow the target, but also jump up and escape in an emergency.

Giraffes have a gentle temperament and are modest, elegant and polite among the group. They accompany each other affectionately, stay very close to each other, and take care of each other. Their long legs often touch each other. This situation usually lasts for a long time, but they never happen because of such small things. Quarrel, back-and-forth. This mutual proximity is both out of warmth and safety. A kind of warmth silently spreads to every giraffe in the group. They often meet each other head and neck, communicating gently and carefully, like a cluster of tall banana trees, growing from the same roots and waiting for each other. Their actions are so easy-going, kind and natural, completely worthy of their beautiful appearance.

animal tags： giraffe