Wood Carved Giraffe

The giraffes is by far the biggest ruminant and the tallest mammal. They have very long neck with short, upstanding mane, high shoulders sloping steeply to hindquarters; long legs nearly equal in length. They are equipped to exploit a 6 foot band of foliage beyond reach of all other terrestrial browsers except the elephant. The 18 inch (45 cm) tongue and a modified atlas-axis joint that lets the head extend vertically further increase the height advantage. Giraffes can browse crowns of small trees; big bulls can reach 19 feet, a yard higher than cows. They mainly feed on broad leafed deciduous foliage in the rains and on evergreen species at other seasons. They drink every 2 to 3 days when water is available but also have the ability to extract water from green leaves.