Giraffe Browsing Acacia

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Giraffe Browsing On A Spiny Acacia
Its Long Prehensile Tongue Avoids The Spines

A giraffe browsing on the spiny, leafy branches of winter thorn (Acacia albida), a South African species with long, sharp stipular spines. With its long neck the giraffe reaches high into the branches and carefully wraps its long, black prehensile tongue around the tender leaves, delicately removing the tasty morsels from between the spines. The feeding of giraffes actually produces the characteristic flat-topped shapes of many acacias on the vast African savannahs. [Animated gif courtesy of Microsoft Corporation.]

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