A giraffe's height is an evolutionary adaptation that allows it to feed from tall trees and other sources of vegetation. The long tongue of the giraffe, which can grow to 21 inches in length, is a similar adaptation designed for reaching difficult spots.
Giraffes can grow up to 19 feet in height and weigh nearly 3,000 pounds. While the giraffe's height is advantageous for eating and searching for predators, it also poses difficulty when the animal needs to drink from a watering hole. When kneeling, a giraffe must splay its legs, making the giraffe vulnerable to predators such as lions and crocodiles. Despite this, giraffes rarely need to drink and derive most of their water from vegetation.
Also see elephant facts
There are two main scientific theories as to why giraffes’ necks are so tall. The first was proposed by Charles Darwin and suggests that due to intense competition from rival creatures for foliage under two metres high, giraffes’ common ancestor slowly evolved a longer neck in order to access untapped leaf reserves – with only the more successful, longer necked animals feeding efficiently. The second theory is that giraffes evolved long necks as a secondary sexual characteristic, giving males an advantage in physical combat and therefore granting access to more sexually receptive females to reproduce.
Are there any disadvantages of being so tall? Actually, there are none! Giraffes rarely drink water, so they don't have to inconvenience themselves by spreading their front legs wide apart, bending their knees, and lowering their necks all the time. How do they survive then? Well, giraffes can get all the moisture they need from simply licking dew and eating plants. Because they can survive for a long time without drinking water, they don't have to join other savannah animals that migrate to other areas during the dry season.
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