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Natural or Sexual Selection ! Wish We Knew The Truth! Which are the tallest land mammals in this planet called Earth? We need not consult a reference book or visit a zoo for the correct answer. We all know that Giraffes are the tallest land mammals. The next question may sound a tricky one to some! How tall is a normal male Giraffe? While a male Giraffe, with its long legs and neck can be up to 18ft tall, a female is naturally less than that. The third question, I presume, could really be a tricky one even for those who look after Giraffes in a zoo. Could anyone tell why the Giraffes happen to be long necked mammals? The ready answer to this question is always at hand! Many of us, rather most of us, would say that Giraffes’ long necks are for helping them to reach food in the tops of trees. The answer sounds absolutely correct. Not so fast. This contention may not be one hundred percent correct even though a Giraffe also needs browsing on the leaves of trees for food! Wild Giraffes outmatch even Elephants to strip leaves from the upper reaches of the trees! Jean-Baptiste Lampark, the French zoologist, is credited for this suggestion! However, according to Charles Darwin, the giraffe's neck resulted from repeated "natural selection". Moreover, the notion that the long necks have evolved in giraffes for allowing them to collect food from the tree tops is not at all entirely correct because the Giraffes generally feed from low shrubs, not tall trees, during the dry season when feeding competition is very much intense It is also true that Giraffes feed faster with their necks bent. It may also not be out of place here to mention that these views became known as the "competing browsers" hypothesis as because it suggested that competitive pressure from smaller browsers, such as kudu, steenbok and impala, encouraged the elongation of the neck, as it enabled giraffes to reach food that competitors could not. The beliefs, however, changed to a great extent in the year 1996, when zoologists Robert Simmons and Lue Scheepers introduced a new idea now known as the "necks-for-sex" hypothesis. The idea tells us that long necks are the result of sexual selection! In other words we can say that the Giraffe’s extraordinary neck is a result of intense competition between males for access to females! And this is the reality according to most present day scientists. However, my readers may not please ask me to explain why female Giraffes also have long necks! Do the long necks assist the female Giraffes to look for strong and large males for sexual pleasure,? Happy Reading…. Source: Various Media Photo Credits: Anup Shah, Charlie Summers, Denis-Huot and Cheryl-Samantha Owen.           |
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No matter what the reason might be, the giraffe is one of the most fascinating animals on the plant. The pictures are great and I like the last one best. It is almost as if the giraffe is looking at you and asking "hey, what's up?" Fossil look.
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Interesting blog. Have a wonderful weekend. Be a prism, spreading God's light and love, not a mirror reflecting the world's hatred.
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Interesting blog. Have a wonderful weekend.
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Interesting blog! "The only way to have a friend is to be one."
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Hello Dan Dee...thank you so much for stopping by and your response..I appreciate. Have a wonderful weekend.
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I am not a zoologist and as such I can't tell what will naturally happen to future generations. However, I can tell you that Giraffes are really most fascinating animals and the males fight among themselves to win over the attention of a nearby female! Take care Rubi. Stay happy and cheerful.
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Thank you so much for your comments, Earthy. I appreciate. I was really surprised to see in the picture how effortlessly the male Giraffe could freely use its hind leg to attack anther of its own kind! Best wishes, Take care.
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Interesting blog!
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Thank you so much, Mary Ann, for your inspiring comments left on this blog of mine. While appreciating, I would like to add that these particular animals are one of the most fascinating and graceful Kind created by God among His many other creations! Have a happy and wonderful weekend!
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Lulugravy , sex is no doubt a natural thing between a male and female but it has probably nothing to do with natural selection mentioned in the blog! I may be wrong yet I would request you to please read here under how "natural selection" has been defined in a dictionary: Definition of natural selection: a natural process that results in the survival and reproductive success of individuals or groups best adjusted to their environment and that leads to the perpetuation of genetic qualities best suited to that particular environment." Best wishes. Take care always!
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Thanks for sharing a lovely blog. Giraffes sure are curious fellas !
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Looklook hello. I maybe the last to post on your above blog but I have a reason for it and I believe you can guess it also. Well, it's an interesting blog and the photos are great too. I may say that in most animals the choice between the males and females do exist, the same as in birds also. It is instinctive within them, though unspoken. But by their acts, one may understand it. Scientifically, it has been suggested as you mentioned above. Another example in birds, are the peacocks and peahens. In one of my previous blog on Peacocks, I have mentioned how the peahens choose its male and how the males act as to influence the females for mating. So, it is natural in animals of the same species. Good blog and thank you for sharing it with us. I wish you Happy festive days for your feast, Ramadan. With my best wishes and kind regards. Lisa. 
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Looklook hello. I maybe the last to post on your above blog but I have a reason for it and I believe you can guess it also. Well, it's an interesting blog and the photos are great too. I may say that in most animals the choice between the males and females do exist, the same as in birds also. It is instinctive within them, though unspoken. But by their acts, one may understand it. Scientifically, it has been suggested as you mentioned above. Another example in birds, are the peacocks and peahens. In one of my previous blog on Peacocks, I have mentioned how the peahens choose its male and how the males act as to influence the females for mating. So, it is natural in animals of the same species. Good blog and thank you for sharing it with us. I wish you Happy festive days for your feast, Ramadan. With my best wishes and kind regards. Lisa. Wishing you all the best, dear Lisa. Enjoy your time with Emily who has since returned to you from Lyon to enjoy holidays with you and her dad! Kindest Regards. look.
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