Why do giraffes have such long legs? Animal simulations reveal a surprising answer

If you've ever wondered why the giraffe has such a long neck, the answer seems clear: it lets them reach succulent leaves atop tall acacia trees in Africa.

- BY ROGER S. SEYMOUR Professor Emeritus of Physiology, University of Adelaide EDWARD SNELLING Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria

Only giraffes have direct access to those leaves, while smaller mammals must compete with one another near the ground. This exclusive food source appears to allow the giraffe to breed throughout the year and to survive droughts better than shorter species.

But the long neck comes at a high cost. The giraffe's heart must produce enough pressure to pump its blood a couple of metres up to its head. The blood pressure of an adult giraffe is typically over 200mm Hg-more than twice that of most mammals.

As a result, the heart of a resting giraffe uses more energy than the entire body of a resting human, and indeed more energy than the heart of any other mammal of comparable size. However, as we show in a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, the giraffe's heart has some unrecognised helpers in its battle against gravity: the animal's long, long legs.

Meet the 'elaffe'