WHEN LONGER
IS BETTER T For some species, having a long neck serves them well, despite the added vulnerability to predation.
16 / ZOONOOZ / MARCH 2016
BY KARYL CARMIGNANI | STAFF WRITER PHOTOS BY KEN BOHN | SDZG PHOTOGRAPHER
here are two good reasons for an animal to stick its neck out: access to food and competition for mates. But long necks can be a deadly trade-off—that life-giving column of nerves, bones, airways, veins, and blood connecting the head to the body is a vulnerable part of the anatomy that can be quick-and-easy pickings for a predator. Long necks are nothing new to the Animal Kingdom. Some dinosaurs were famous for their drivewaylong necks, including a Chinese sauropod that sported 19 vertebrae in its 50-foot-long neck. Fast-forward several million years, and it’s clear that long necks still give some species a leg up. These days, it’s the giraffe that is the quintessential long neck, with mature bulls achieving an eight-foot neck made up of a mere seven cervical vertebrae—the same number as most other mammals, including humans. No other living creature reaches even half the giraffe’s length; the ostrich has the next longest neck at around three feet.