The King's Giraffe died on Sunday week, at the Menagerie at
Sandpit-gate, near Windsor. It was nearly four years and a half old, and
arrived in England in August, 1827, as a present from the Pacha of Egypt
to his Majesty.
About the same time another Giraffe arrived at Marseilles, being also
a present from the Pacha to the King of France. This and the deceased
animal were females, and were taken very young by some Arabs, who fed
them with milk. The Governor of Sennaar, a large town of Nubia, obtained
them from the Arabs, and forwarded them to the Pacha of Egypt. This
ruler determined on presenting them to the Kings of England and France;
and as there was some difference in size, the Consuls of each nation
drew lots for them. The shortest and weakest fell to the lot of England.
The Giraffe destined for our Sovereign was conveyed to Malta, under the
charge of two Arabs; and was from thence forwarded to London, in the
Penelope merchant vessel, and arrived on the 11th of August. The animal
was conveyed to Windsor two days after, in a spacious caravan. The
following were its dimensions, as measured shortly after its arrival
at Windsor:
From the top of the head to the bottom of the hoof ... 10 8
Length of the head ... 1 9
From the top of the head to the neck root ... 4 0
From the neck-root to the elbow ... 2 3
From the elbow to the upper part of the knee ... 1 8
From the upper part of the knee to the fetlock joint ... 1 11
From the fetlock joint to the bottom of the hoof ... 0 10
Length of the back ... 3 1
From the croup to the bottom of the hoof ... 5 8
From the hock to the bottom of the hoof ... 2 9
Length of the hoof ... 0 7-1/2
From the period of its arrival to June last, the animal grew 18 inches.
Her usual food was barley, oats, split beans, and ash-leaves: she drank
milk. Her health was not good; her joints appeared to _shoot over_, and
she was very weak and crippled. She was occasionally led for exercise
round her paddock, when she was well enough, but she was seldom on her
legs: indeed, so great was the weakness of her fore legs for some time
previous to her death, that a pulley was constructed, being suspended
from the ceiling of her hovel, and fastened round her body, so as to
raise her on her legs without any exertion on her part. When she first
arrived she was exceedingly playful, and up to her death continued
perfectly harmless.--_Abridged from the library of Entertaining
Knowledge_.
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The Anecdote Gallery.
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