In the world there is a huge variety of animals and birds. Some people are indifferent to them, while others are touched even by animals representing a danger to life. Love for pets like cats and dogs is clear. This is from ancient times tamed "guardians" of the hearth. And it would seem that in the wild world animals live some kind of life of their own, not even fully understood by zoologists. But it was not without human intervention. There are many animals in zoos that are already used to being around people. And how many wildlife representatives perform in circuses! These include elephants, hippos, lions, tigers, snakes, monkeys and crocodiles.
That is, a person has learned not only to keep wild animals in their cages and feed, but also to understand, love and train. Just imagine how difficult it is - to inspire a wild beast that you are not an enemy to him, and even teach him to perform various tricks …
All animals are needed!
The need for certain animals for nature is obvious. The extinction of a species leads to disturbances in the ecological balance. Each animal in nature has a role to play. To feed his lion cubs, he hunts for zebra, hawks catch small birds, foxes and wolves eat dead hares, so as not to turn forest territories into animal cemeteries, well, a person eats certain animals for food. In this cycle, as a rule, the fittest survives. But not always the lion will catch up with the antelope. She will subsequently give new offspring. The links of this chain never break, and the genotype of the strongest only becomes more perfect.
A person throughout his life can ask different questions regarding birds and animals. For example, which animal is the oldest, the funniest, the most evil or the good, the smartest and so on. And this article will let you know which animal and which bird has the longest neck.
Crane
The crane is a graceful bird. He has a rather long thin neck. Height - 1.25 m. Body weight varies between 4.5-5.5 kg. The wingspan is about 2 m. The body is elongated. Crane pairs, like swans, are monogamous.
Pink flamingo
Flamingo is a pink bird with a long neck. One of the most beautiful on the planet. Her nature has awarded an incredible color, which can be pale pink, white-pink, pink-lilac, pink-peach and even fiery red. In ancient times, people considered it a magic bird.
And whoever watched the simultaneous take-off of a flock of flamingos, he would never forget this amazing sight. The body length of pink flamingos reaches 1.5 meters, weight - up to 5 kg. This fabulous bird is the only one in nature with the longest legs and the longest neck. Naturally, these criteria are those relative to the body of a flamingo.
Such a long neck allows the bird to immerse its head under water as deep as possible. So she gets herself food in the form of fish.
Long neck swan
Swan is an elegant bird of rare beauty, symbolizing tenderness, loyalty and love. No wonder there is the concept of "swan fidelity." Such a species as trumpeters live for thirty to forty years with only one partner. And if it is a pond, then other individuals are not allowed there. Despite the outward calm and proud look, they are quite aggressive animals. In addition to the trumpeters, there are such species as a mute swan, a tundra swan, a whooper swan, a black swan, a small swan, and an American swan.
Swans are the largest waterfowl, weighing an average of nine kilograms. Compared to other representatives of the duck breed, the swan has the longest neck. And which species? It turns out that the longest neck is black. Legs are short, waddling around. On earth, this swan with a long neck spends little time. It mainly lives on the water.
Ostrich
Ostrich is the largest bird. Its height is 2-2.5 m. Weight is 60-75 kg. And the weight of an adult male can reach 120 kg. Has powerful legs, a long neck. Moreover, this bird has a small head.
Long neck not only in birds, but also in animals
The neck length in birds depends on the number of vertebrae. Their number ranges from 9 to 25. Nature has not in vain presented long necks to some species. For example, swans cannot dive like ducks. Therefore, in search of food, leaving the torso on the surface, they dip their heads under water. And thanks to the long neck they reach the bottom (of course, we are not talking about deep water bodies). There they get their own food. There are several more species of birds with a long neck, but pink flamingo is still in first place.
Let's look at some animals now. Which one has the longest neck?
The most ancient is the dinosaur. This is the most famous extinct detachment of reptiles that have lived on Earth for 150 million years. Scientists have identified dozens of species of these animals - utaraptors, sinornithosaurs, yankhnosaurus, scutellosaurus, triceratops and many others. Herbivorous dinosaurs had long legs and necks.
Brachiosaurus
Before the advent of diplodocus and Argentinosaurs, the brachiosaurus was unique in its kind. This is a dinosaur with a long neck. The length of his body could reach 30 meters, and a height of 14 meters.
Body weight - an average of forty tons. A small head was located on the neck, whose length was approximately eight to nine meters.
Giraffatian
The remains of this dinosaur species are found in Africa. The length of his neck was ten to twelve meters. Height - about thirteen meters. The weight of this individual reaches 31 tons. The shoulders of the giraffatian are at six meters.
Mamenchisaurus
Mamenchisaurus - a dinosaur with a long neck. He lived in the territories of modern China.
This is the longest animal of the Jurassic period - its body reached 23 m in length. Height is sixteen meters. Weight - 25 tons. Of modern living creatures, only a blue whale can be compared in weight with a mamenchisaurus. Among all his brothers, he was a champion in neck length (sixteen meters!). Such an external feature gave the animal an advantage among other sauropods in the search for food. Mamenchisaurus could reach the tops of even very tall trees.
Giraffe height, neck length, species description
Its body is short, small head, medium-sized moving ears and "horns" on the forehead. Such growths are scientifically called "ossicons." Already with them a giraffe is born. The life span of an individual is about thirty years. This animal is the owner of long legs. The height of the giraffe is 6-7 meters. Since the head is at a height of two to three meters from the heart, the latter is forced to do hard work, supplying blood to the neck, the length of which reaches 2-3 m.
It is incorrect to believe that a giraffe has such a long neck due to the large number of cervical vertebrae. Like all mammals, he has seven of them. It's just that in this animal they are quite large. And, for example, in small rodents they are tiny.
To the question "Why does a giraffe have a long neck?" The answer is quite simple. With the help of such a long part of the body, the animal picks leaves from the tops of trees. Herbivores such as antelopes or zebras pick foliage from the lower branches, and the giraffe is uncomfortable to eat grass. It remains to get food at an altitude where, by the way, there are never competitors.
We figured out why the giraffe has a long neck. What else is remarkable about this animal? The giraffe has a fairly long tongue - about half a meter. Thanks to him, the animal easily picks young shoots from the tops of trees, which are a real treat for him. The tongue is a powerful muscle in this individual.
Long legs sometimes cause inconvenience to the giraffe. For example, when he comes to a watering place, he can widen the front wide and pull his head to the surface of the water. Often a giraffe is forced to bend its legs.
These animals with a long neck can reach speeds of up to 55 km per hour. In this case, the neck is responsible for the intensity of movements.
