At first glance, this creature seems very disproportionate: thin long legs, a large body, a small head and a long neck. But actually it is not. The giraffe is very elegant and sweet. In addition, this animal has the highest blood pressure. And this is not surprising. But why this happens, we’ll try to figure it out.
Why do we all so want to ride a giraffe? Is it because he is handsome and tall?
Yes, yes, it's all about him. About the giraffe. About that which is called a cross between a leopard and a camel. This animal has the highest blood pressure. And these are not miracles that happen by the wave of a magic wand. The giraffe's body must fully supply the brain with blood, but pumping blood so high is not easy at all.
So that blood from the heart can flow upward, providing proper nutrition for the animal’s brain, blood pressure must be higher. When the head of a giraffe is raised, the pressure at the level of the brain is exactly the same as that of other small mammals.
Giraffe is the highest animal existing today. Almost half of its growth is occupied by the neck. Like a person, he has seven cervical vertebrae, the only difference is that they are elongated.
It is said that many centuries ago the necks of these beautiful animals were ordinary, well, or quite a bit longer than normal. But when the drought came and there was less food, it was the giraffes, which were higher than the rest, who were able to reach the upper leaves of the trees. That is why they had a much greater chance of survival and offspring. By the way, very young giraffes have relatively short necks.
These important animals sleep very little, and standing. But even if they lie on the ground, they try to make their head more comfortable, put it on their hind legs, bending their necks, or even lean on the ground. This takes quite a long time.
Giraffe high pressure is not a hindrance
So, because of the long neck, this animal has the highest blood pressure. According to estimates, it is about three times higher than the pressure in a healthy average person. The heart muscle of this handsome man is able to pump blood to the giraffe’s brain, and this path is 3.5 meters!
It would seem that due to such a long neck, which helps him to clasp small shoots of trees and leaves at considerable height with moving lips, the giraffe can get hurt, because the branches are very sharp. But here, nature was quite prudent. The animal with the highest blood pressure also has a number of “devices” that allow it not to lose blood if it is cut or injured. His body is arranged so that with such a high blood pressure, the vessels lie deep (deeper than other mammals) and have fairly dense walls with a huge number of valves.
But I wonder what happens if the giraffe wants to get drunk and lowered his head into the water? Will blood not hit the head and there will be no hemorrhage? And after a sharp head lift, giraffes for some reason do not feel dizzy. Even a person is faced with a similar phenomenon. The giraffe would also have experienced this, but he was lucky: in addition to numerous blood vessels, there are special valves in his neck. When the animal bends, they are able to automatically close, and blood does not rush to the head. When a giraffe sharply lifts its head, these same valves “prohibit” blood from draining too quickly from its head.
