The giraffe is an amazing creature. Without its uniquely designed features it could neither function nor survive. The Giraffe's Neck and Heart The giraffe's most obvious feature is its unique neck. Though a giraffe can be 15 feet tall, its long neck has—like the human neck—only seven vertebrae. Yet its neck gives it a great advantage over other animals because it can feed on tree leaves that other large animals cannot reach. A giraffe's long neck obviously makes it difficult for it to rise from a lying position. But even more important, the distance from its heart to its head requires higher blood pressure than is normally found in mammals. So God designed unique mechanisms in the giraffe's neck to compensate for this increased blood pressure. Explaining how the giraffe could have survived with its long neck before these mechanisms were in place presents some daunting challenges to those who wish to explain away creation as evolutionary chance. The giraffe also has a much larger heart than other mammals. This is so its heart can pump a steady supply of blood to its brain that is approximately seven feet away from the heart. Its neck has special valves to regulate blood pressure to its head, especially when it needs to drink. Without these special valves a giraffe would be susceptible to a stroke from the excessive blood pressure as it lowers its head to drink. Birth Considerations The female giraffe faces another problem in giving birth to her young. On the African plains many predators are searching for food. If the female gave birth while lying down, she and her offspring could be vulnerable to an attack by a lion, leopard or another predator. So a baby giraffe's birth takes place while the mother giraffe is standing. This provides some protection from predators. However, the baby giraffe's long neck presents another problem. If it comes from the womb with its neck unprotected, injury or even death could occur. In its fall of several feet to the ground, its head would likely hit first, possibly breaking its neck. Again God has specially designed the mother giraffe to give birth to her young in a special and unusual manner. The body of the baby giraffe is folded with its head resting safely on its back legs. The feet hit the ground first cushioning the head of the baby giraffe. Giraffes are indeed among the "wonders" of God's creation. They are gentle animals that in the wild will run from a human on foot. Their specially designed features all point to a Creator and display the wisdom and creative genius of God! UN