It is already expected that giraffes are amazing animals. They are nice to look at but most people do not know that they have actually evolved through the years. There was a time when giraffes did not have long necks. It seems that the necks of giraffes have evolved greatly because of the male giraffes’ desire to fight for the female giraffes that they like. Male giraffes may sometimes duel with the use of their necks.
The stronger giraffe will get the female giraffe. It also helps those female giraffes seem to prefer those who have longer necks. There was a theory before that the necks of giraffes grew because of their desire to eat food but this is a weak theory at this point.
It has been accepted for many years that Larmark and Darwin's theories, although different, coincided on one point: that in arid countries the advantage of being able to graze the greenery high up on trees was a feature that encouraged development of long necks. However, a few years ago, it was pointed out that giraffes choose to feed with their necks at an angle, only stretching up when there is nothing to graze lower down.
Whether for high grazing or not, selective breeding for long necks has favored the tall giraffe over shorter animals in the same family. The larger animal survives better than the shorter and the sexual advantage of being favored by females is accentuated by the use of the neck in sexual competition. Giraffes lay their necks over their competitor and bash their head with their strong skulls. But since the giraffe has been the tallest animal for over a million years, the full explanation for its evolution is yet to be discovered.
