Question 8: the correct answer is 7. Got it right? Award yourself 1 point.
Question 9 of 10
What is the largest feline in the Americas?
Why, in question 8: How many vertebrae are there in a giraffe's neck?
The answer is 7, the same number we have in our necks. What changes is the size: each giraffe vertebra is much longer than ours.
Height as an advantage
The long neck lets the giraffe reach leaves that other herbivores cannot, on the high branches of acacia trees. Males also use their necks in fights, swinging them to strike their rival with their heads.
At birth, a giraffe calf is already close to 1.8 metres tall and falls more than 1.5 metres, because the mother gives birth while standing. Usually, in less than an hour, it is already on its feet.
The coat patterns work like fingerprints: the design is different on every giraffe, and researchers use photos of the patches to identify and track individuals in the wild.
To drink, a giraffe has to splay its front legs and lower its neck, an awkward position that leaves it exposed. For this reason it usually drinks quickly and can go days without drinking, getting much of its water from the leaves it eats.
There are different giraffe populations in Africa, with different patterns and colours, and a 2016 genetic study suggested that they actually form four species. The question is still debated among scientists.
