Marvels of the Animal Kingdom; Giraffes

NOTHING IS QUITE AS STRIKING, bold, graceful, and
captivating as a giraffe. Gazing upon the Bronx Zoo’s majestic
tower of giraffes, as a group of them is called, it is hard not to
get lost in their intrinsic beauty as they wander their grassy
tree-lined habitat.
Giraffes are fascinating and are true marvels of the animal
kingdom. They have a heart the size of a basketball, and have
one of the highest blood pressures of any animal. Special one-
way valves and elastic blood vessels allow giraffes to bend
over for a drink without having their enormous blood pressure
negatively affect their brains. Giraffes are constantly on alert,
and only sleep about 20 minutes a night as they stand vigil for
danger. Other hoofed species often congregate around
giraffes since they are the first to spot threats. And while their
dramatic marking may seem counter intuitive in terms of
camouflage, wild giraffes are often described as being nearly
invisible in the brush of the African plains.
World Giraffe Day is June 21 – the longest day of the year –
and helps to raise awareness of the plight of wild giraffes.
Despite being arguably one of the most sought after and
charismatic animals at the zoo, giraffes are suffering from
what some refer to as a silent extinction. The wild giraffe
population is estimated to have dropped by 40 percent in the
last three decades. This is due in large part to habitat loss and
poaching. It goes to show that even for iconic animals such as
giraffes, life can be truly fragile without our help.