Some people become scared when they are up as high as 18 to 20 feet off the ground, yet this is the height from which large giraffes view their surroundings. Giraffes are the world’s tallest animals, and about half their height is in their long neck that has a lush mane (so neat that it looks as if it were trimmed with clippers) and a pretty head with two short horns standing straight up. Its large deer-like eyes, behind long black lashes, reveal its normally gentle character. High in the air its eyes can see in almost every direction without turning its head.
The long neck has only seven vertebrae (the same as people), but these are large, strong and quite flexible. The neck’s exposed surface serves as a cooling tower in the hot African climate, and the largest windpipe in nature exhales stale air from the lungs. Then with great force it inhales, bringing in a fresh supply of air which also helps cool it.
God has placed a wide and interesting variety of animals throughout the world, and He has adapted each one to its own particular surroundings. In East Africa there are a dozen species of the giraffe, all pale fawn or cream colored with large reddish, yellow or brown spots over its entire body. No two have exactly the same pattern. Perhaps the natives originally called them “zarafa” (meaning “swift creature") because they did not know what else to name a beast that looked something like a cross between a leopard and a camel!
The high, bobbing head of a running giraffe is an immediate signal of danger to its companions, and they promptly join in the running. Actually, they have very few enemies, except that lions and hyenas will kill the calves if the parents are not close by to defend them with their sharp, powerful hooves which can kick in all directions. These 12-inch hooves, on the ends of seven or eight-foot leg bones having long, strong muscles, can easily kill a lion. Lions avoid attacking adult giraffes unless they are injured or sick. When there is need to defend their young, or when fights occur between jealous males, the necks of giraffes topped with the tough, horned skull, also make vicious weapons when slammed against an opponent.
When the Psalmist thought of the marvelous things of the Creator, he declared, “Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalms 33:8,98Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. (Psalm 33:8‑9). As we consider the many ways He has provided for all living creatures, we also should “stand in awe of Him” and thankfully accept His loving offer to be not only our Creator, but our Saviour as well.
(to be continued)
ML-11/27/1983