Giraffes (Giraffa sp.)

[Spalea]

Lucien Beaumont: " Giraffe will often only drink every three days or so.

This is due to giraffe being vulnerable to predator attack, especially during the dry season, when lions, their main predator, will lie in wait around waterholes, knowing full well that their prey will be forced to drink.
It is also incredibly awkward for the worlds tallest animal to almost fold itself in half and bring its mouth to take a few sips of water.
With the adaptation of being the tallest animal, giraffe have incredibly high blood pressure to enable blood to be pumped from the heart to the head, up to 6m above the ground.
When a giraffe finally builds up enough courage to take a drink, there is another conundrum.
As soon as the giraffe brings its head below its shoulders, blood, under the high pressure, rushes towards the brain.
The giraffe has a network of blood vessels below the brain which act as a sponge to reduce the pressure and prevent the giraffe from blacking out, but this “blood sponge” only reduces the pressure for a few seconds, allowing the giraffe only moments to take vital sips of water before the blood pressure mounts and the giraffe has to quickly raise its head above its heart.
An impressive spray of water and saliva is often whipped into the air as the head and neck of the giraffe return to their vertical position.
Next time you see a giraffe making its way to a waterhole to drink, remind yourself of how easy we have as humans it to simply pour ourselves a glass of water. "

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