Giraffes...more than meet the eyes

I must say that since I started the adventure with Sophie Ha Girafa, I discovered an animal truly special.

For instance I learned that:

• She has a huge heart-- yes!  A giraffe's heart weighs an incredible 24 pounds (11 kilos).
• She is resilient: A giraffe can go longer without water than a camel.
• She is the tallest mammal in the world.
• She is a cardio-expert: in one minute, her heart can pump 160 gallons of blood (605.66 liters).
• She is strong : An adult giraffe's kick is so powerful that it can decapitate a lion.
• She is caring: When adult male giraffes bang their long necks together in a form of ritual fighting, no harm is done to either giraffe.

And for fun facts:

• She can clean her ears with her 21-inch tongue!
• And her tongue is black!
• She is very flexible.... see picture below!
• She barely sleeps!Until 1956, it used to be thought that Giraffes did not sleep at all. Michael Grzimek demonstrated that adult giraffes slept  for short periods (2.5 to 6 minutes per 24 hours), either standing or resting their head on the hindquarters or on the ground while holding the neck in an arced posture as shown below .

Source

And last and surely not least because of her big heart and her willingness to stick her neck out, she is the symbol of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) also known as "Giraffe Language". The Giraffe language is nonviolent, compassionate language. Giraffe language is communication from a caring heart.

Nonviolent communication (NVC) is founded on language and communication skills that strengthen our ability to remain human, even under trying conditions.  The intent is to remind us about what we already know – about how we humans were meant to relate to one another – and to assist us in living in a way that concretely manifests this knowledge

Now this is what is needed on our little planet! More Giraffe language speakers!

Thank you atomicshark