As the tallest land animals on earth, giraffes are of course famous for their height, ranging between 4 and 6 metres – most of it coming from their long necks.
But there are many more fascinating facts about giraffes that you may or may not have heard about. For example, did you know that giraffes have black-purple tongues?
Verdict:
TRUE
Yes! Not only are their tongues massive – they can reach up to 45 to 50 cm in length, which is about the length of your arm (in comparison, human tongues are usually around 7.6 cm long) – and prehensile (meaning they can grab things), but they’re also a curious colour.
The ‘why’, however, is still under speculation, though the most popularised theory is that the black-purple colour prevents it from getting sunburned under the fiercely hot African sun – the high levels of melanin act as a “natural sunscreen”.
It’s interesting to note that only the front portion of a giraffe’s tongue – the part that will get exposed to the sun the most as they graze on treetops throughout the day – is dark, whereas the tongue’s base is a more normal-looking pink hue. Young giraffes also tend to have lighter-coloured tongues compared to older giraffes, which is believed to be due to increased melanin production as they grow older.
References:
1) Why giraffes have purple tongues: https://www.zmescience.com/
2) Why do giraffes have purple tongues?: https://www.sciencefocus.com/
3) Why are giraffes' tongues black?: https://iere.org/why-are-
