A giraffe’s unusual patterning give it a clever way of keeping cool that don’t involve sweating and therefore losing precious hydration in its dry African home, says Sheena Harvey.
The secret is in themottled patches. Around each patch is a large blood vessel that connects with a maze of smaller capillaries under the patch. These dilate to efficiently release heat from the circulation system like radiator panels.
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You might wonder why the animal isn’t therefore completely covered in these small, heat-shedding blood vessels. That’s because the patches serve a double purpose of camouflaging it in the dappled African bush and a mottled approach works fine for both purposes.
The reason for the spots being dark is less clear but they are melanin-rich and so thought to help a relatively short-haired animal to avoid sunburn. Short hair is important in not offering too much insulation that would prevent body heat from escaping.
