Youve seen it on safari tours and animal documentaries– a long, stylish neck extending toward the paradises, culminating in an intriguingly purple tongue. Its one of natures most perplexing functions. However why, you might wonder, does a giraffe have a purple tongue?
If anybody asked you to indicate the weirdest part of a giraffe, you most likely wouldnt point to the mouth. Their patterned figures, towering necks, and slender gait make them pretty unique animals. Set against the background of the African Serengeti, the shape of a giraffe is apparent– and yet, I d argue that its their purple-colored and long tongue that might just be their weirdest feature.
The sauropods of our age: giraffes! Image by means of Wikimedia Commons.
Why do giraffes have purple tongues?
Two words: Natures sun block.
Consider it– Giraffes are megaherbivores. Basically, this indicates theyre enormous animals that feed upon plants, like elephants.
Under the blaring sun, it isnt simply their body that bears the brunt of heat direct exposure; their tongues do. Since giraffes invest most of their time eating, their tongues, comprised of epithelial cells (the things that makes up skin), stick out of their mouth for around 20 hours a day. Without protection, that tongues bound to burn.
A giraffe protruding his tongue. Image through Wikimedia Commons.
To make things interesting, just the anterior parts of the tongue– the prehensile part– are in fact melanized! The posterior and middle parts of the tongue are a run-of-the-mill, baby-pink color.
To avoid a serious case of sunburn, giraffes house a clever adjustment on their tongues– melanin.
Cows graze lawn off the ground while giraffes prefer picking leaves off treetops. They do not simply consume all at once either, adult giraffes can invest over 20 hours a day simply strolling, tree to tree, and eat anywhere between 15 pounds or 75 pounds of leaves a day.
You might believe that the color of a tongue isnt a huge offer. The giraffes tongue isnt simply purple; its a particular shade that leans more towards black or blue, depending on the lighting.
Melanin, a kind of pigment, is the things that makes the giraffes tongue dark (purple or blue) colored. There are gaps in research still, researchers have long thought that this dark skin of the tongue– due to a high density of melanin– is what protects the giraffes tongue from the intense ultraviolet rays of the African savannah.
Whats up with giraffe tongues?
To fight the irritable greenery of the acacia trees, giraffes use sneaky tactics. They use their lengthened and dexterous tongues to elude the prickly thorns of acacia trees; going straight for the leaves instead. Additionally, giraffes have actually toughened papillae on their tongues, rendering the surface area solidified and rough, thus providing additional protection against any possible damage.
Giraffes frequently have little to no competition for food. Image by means of Wikimedia Commons.
A food loved by both giraffes and elephants alike, Acacia leaves arent precisely the simplest thing to reach. Both spines and leaves (sharp, pointy, and uncomfortable) decorate the branches of the tree This alternate placement of leaves and spinal columns, positions may position a hazard to some types but to the giraffe– its no sweat.
Acacias are also frequently referred to as thorn trees. Image through Wikimedia Commons.
The battle of tongue versus tree.
If the razor-sharp thorns of the acacia handle to draw blood; it doesnt matter, even. If they get cut– they simply lick themselves to get much better, Giraffes produce antibacterial saliva; it doesnt matter!
Giraffes tongues have a lot going on. Not just are they purple, but theyre also unbelievably long. A typical giraffe tongue steps in at about 50 centimeters – half a meter long!
Once again, this boils down to the truth that giraffes are mega herbivores. Giraffes have the distinct pleasure of having practically no competitors (except elephants) to compete with for their food. All that grows at heights of 15 feet and above is theirs to eat– particularly Acacia, a types of tree frequently discovered across the Serengeti.
Odd, not rare: other animals with dark tongues
Generally, unlike the Okapis and Giraffes of Africa, Polar Bears tongues arent dark to safeguard against sunshine but rather to absorb it (amusing how that worked out).
Particular reptiles, notably lizards, have darkened tongues. Not precisely purple, skinks, such as the blue-tonged skink, are popular examples of colored tongues in the reptilian world. Thankfully, a lot more research has been conducted on the blue-tongued skinks than on Okapis, Giraffes, or perhaps Polar Bear tongues.
Polar Bear
So how does sunshine make it to the ground in such a place? It all comes down to treefall gaps. Rain forests are ancient. Trees in jungles arent simply decades old– theres an excellent possibility they are over half a century old. When giant trees like these, with their behemoth girths, fall down, they leave a literal hole in the canopy. Through these holes, emerges the chance for new development; and hence life on the forest floor.
Okapis can clean their ears with their long tongues. Image through Wikimedia Commons.
It remains in the grounds straight under treefall spaces that Okapis love grazing in; ironically the only area in a rain forest that gets enough sunshine to require having some form of sun block. Again, similar to their cousins, Okapis have prehensile and dexterous tongues that are long enough to clean their own ears.
Its not just the hot locations of the world that home purple-tongued animals; cold locations have their share too. Up north in the Arctic Circle, Polar Bears are another example of odd tongues in the wild. Surprisingly Polar Bears arent born with dark tongues. As babies, they have the typical pink tongues that we do. With time, this color darkens into a black or bluish-purple color– the exact same shade as their skin. Yes, a polar bears skin is dark– its just its fur thats whiteish.
Purple-tongued reptiles
The Okapi and Giraffe are the only two extant members of the Giraffidae household. Image through Wikimedia Commons.
Regardless of their confused appearance, Okapis (also referred to as Forest Giraffe) is the Giraffes only living relative (no, they arent likewise related to zebra and deer). Comparable to their cousins, they likewise possess the exact same definitely colored purple/blue tongues.
Forget the sun, the canopy of these forests is so thick that even raindrops dont make their method to the forest floor. What gives with their darkened tongues?
Of all the colors in the world, dark tones like blue– and specifically black– take in the most light. This helps the bears remain warm– or much better maintain whatever warmth they have.
Okapi
A Polar Bear sticks his tongue out. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Yes, Okapis are real. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Toss in a zebra, a giraffe, and a deer in a blender, and out comes an Okapi. Equipped with the legs of a deer, the pattern of a zebra, and the head of a giraffe, the Okapi is probably among the strangest animals alive today.
Purple-tonged mammals
Fun truth: Neither their skin nor their fur is in fact white! The Polar Bear has black skin and a translucent coat of fur that looks white due to the light it reflects.
Although unusual, purple or blue tongues have also been observed in other animals throughout a variety of habitats. From Polar bears to lizards, an odd assemblage of animals comprise an eclectic group of purple-tongued animals.
Why do skinks have blue tongues?
” The lizards restrict making use of full-tongue displays to the lasts of a predation sequence when they are most at threat, and do so in performance with aggressive protective habits that enhance the screen, such as hissing or inflating their bodies,” said Badiane, in a press release.
Finally, the exact same research study likewise stressed on the value of timing when it pertained to these full-tongue displays versus predators. Badiane explained that for more intense attacks against predators, the lizards would expose a greater area of their tongue, with the rear parts of their tongue, radiant a brighter shade of blue than the tips.
Another cool reality about these lizards tongues is that theyre not just blue– they have UV-blue tongues. Essentially, when seen under ultraviolet light, their tongues radiate an even brighter, more noticeable shade of blue.
She further described that this approach of defense was specifically efficient against aerial predators like birds.” This kind of display might be particularly reliable versus aerial predators, for which an interrupted attack would not be quickly resumed due to loss of inertia,” described Badiane.
” If (full-tongue display screens) carried out too early, a screen may break the lizards camouflage and attract undesirable attention by predators and increase predation risk. If performed too late, it may not hinder predators,” stated Badiane.
The lead author for the research study, Arnaud Badiane, said that blue-tongued skinks utilize their colored tongues, in combination with other aggressive screens like hissing to frighten and disorient predators.
A blue-tongued skink. Image by means of Wikimedia Commons.
For instance, a study from 2018, carried out by scientists at Macquarie University, Australia, discovered that lizards, like the blue-tongued skink, utilize their blue tongues as desperate steps versus predators.
Blue-tongued Skink attacks a Kookaburra figurine.
A tongue-in-cheek conclusion
We may not yet completely understand why giraffes– or any of the many animals that have purple or blue tongues– have actually darkened tongues however, we might take solace in the truth that giraffes certainly appear to be winning the battle of tongue versus trees in the Serengeti.
So there you have it: the low-down on why a giraffes tongue is purple– its a full-blown survival tool. Who understood that the secret to enduring the African heat was, rather literally, on the tip of a giraffes tongue?
Set against the backdrop of the African Serengeti, the shape of a giraffe is apparent– and yet, I d argue that its their long and purple-colored tongue that may simply be their weirdest function.
In the animal kingdom, tongues are more than just organs of taste and speech; they are flexible instruments shaped by evolutionary necessity. From the sun-soaked savannas of Africa to the frigid Arctic tundras, from towering giraffes to scurrying skinks, the colors, lengths, and textures of tongues reveal the exceptional versatility of Earths creatures. The giraffes purple tongue, a biological marvel that thrives under the unyielding African sun, encapsulates this flexibility in a striking way.
Why, you might question, does a giraffe have a purple tongue?
Given that giraffes spend many of their time consuming, their tongues, made up of epithelial cells (the things that makes up skin), stick out of their mouth for around 20 hours a day. The giraffes tongue isnt just purple; its a specific shade that leans more towards black or blue, depending on the lighting. The giraffes purple tongue, a biological marvel that prospers under the unyielding African sun, encapsulates this adaptability in a striking method.
