Download The Stretch of the Giraffe - mhs

The Stretch of the Giraffe, by Ismenia Castelan
When people think of a giraffe, the first thing that they might think of is their immensely long necks,
which is an essential adaptation to their survival. Although, have you ever thought about how those long
necks came to be?
The main and absolutely sure reason is due to evolution. Evolution has allowed these creatures to
evolve from probably short necks, into long, tall necks. Although, some people might ask themselves;
“why are giraffes the animals with long necks?”, “why not a mouse, or a dog?” Scientists have come up
with several theories about these questions.
Natural Selection
Many scientists have considered Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection to be the reason for the giraffe’s
long neck. Darwin once mentioned in his book, Origin of Species, about the giraffe’s evolution and how
natural selection applied to them. He thought giraffes had long necks in order for their survival to
remain steady during times when there was a lack of food. He thought the long neck was a feeding
adaptation of the giraffe since they use it to reach leaves and foliage off of tall trees or high places.
Though, some scientists do not believe their long necks were specifically made for feeding advantages.
They believe their elongated legs help them with reaching high places and their necks are used for other
reasons such as balance when they are running away from predators. A scientist named Jean-Baptist
Lamarck once said, “variations in the environment induce changes in the needs, habits, and modes of
life of living beings.”
Sexual Selection
Other scientists believe the evolution of the giraffe’s long neck is due to Sexual Selection. They have
found that female giraffes tend to be more attracted to males with longer necks. Therefore, the theory
is that the female would mate with the long-necked male and then the male would pass on his longnecked genes to the offspring. The cycle would then repeat itself again and again. Scientists believe in
this theory as more likely since it would also explain the difference in the length in necks between the
different genders. They believe the neck length of the giraffes play an important part in their sexual
behavior.
Other Reasons?
There are other theories as to how and why the giraffes have such long necks. Some believe giraffes
have long necks because they would stretch their necks so much to reach the leaves of the trees that
they eventually became longer and so they passed it on to their offspring. Others believe the long necks
serves as a weapon for male giraffes when they are fighting for a female, they can use it to beat or
strangle their enemy. Other people believe the reason is for the giraffes to have a better view of their
surroundings and watch for any predators nearby.
The reason for the giraffe’s extended neck still remains a mystery to people and scientists all over the
world. Whatever the reason may be, all we know for sure is that the evolution of the giraffe’s long neck
is an important adaptation to their survival in this world.