Giraffe Neck
All About The Amazing Giraffe Neck
Ask anyone what the giraffe neck is good for and the standard answer is, "so that the giraffe can feed from the tops of trees". This has been a long-held theory, but one which isn't completely true. There is more than one reason behind this seemingly out-of-proportion member of the giraffe's body.
Obviously, the giraffe has an advantage in having access to food that other animals cannot reach, and one theory has been that the giraffe neck evolved over time to ensure the animal would always have a plentiful supply of food. The truth is, in most giraffe habitats, there is plenty of food at ground level, and at much lower levels than tree top height. The long neck at first appeared to be just one more example supporting evolutionary theory. But even Darwin was somewhat skeptical of the reasoning behind why the long neck came to be the way it is, to better reach food.
If I were to tell you that a principle function of a giraffe neck is for "necking", you might think I'm making a not terribly clever play on words. The truth is, necking is a function, and a major one. First, a giraffe neck is a formidable weapon. It is not stiff, as it often appears to be, but quite flexible. It can be moved in a whip-like fashion and, with the heavy head at the end of the whip, can deliver a tremendously powerful blow. When two male giraffes are necking, they are fighting, usually to establish male dominance. It is quite a sight, usually punch-counter punch at close quarters. Most of the time, one of the males wins without much damage being done, but the blows can cause injuries, and on occasion, can be lethal.
Since larger males, with the more powerful necks, will tend to win most of the battles, and gain the attention of the females, it is therefore not surprising that their offspring will tend to be larger and have more powerful necks. So the principles of natural selection of the species do seem to come into play. The other function of necking, more in line with how we come to think about the term, is evident during mating rituals between the male giraffe and the female.
There are a couple of other advantages the long giraffe neck provides. It allows the giraffe to see long distances, and be on the watch for its only predator (besides humans), the lion. If the giraffe does have to run, and it is one of the faster land animals, the neck serves as a pendulum of sorts, helping the giraffe to maintain its balance. By the way, should a lion overtake a giraffe, it is not a one-sided battle. The giraffe can deliver a powerful and lethal kick.
A decided disadvantage to the long neck is that the giraffe has some difficulty in reaching down to get a drink of water, which fortunately it does not have to do all that often. The giraffe has to splay its front legs widely, and a bit awkwardly, to reach the water. Getting back to the original theory, that the long giraffe neck is needed to reach leaves at tree-top level, a counter-theory is that the giraffe eats leaves at tree-top level simply because that's where its long neck is.