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Asked by orangesandpeaches to Cathal, Daphne, Darren, Jon, Katherine on 15 Mar 2012.
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Darren Logan answered on 15 Mar 2012:
Giraffes evolved their long necks. Its impossible to say for sure “why” things evolved the way they did. All way can say is that having a long neck obviously helped them survive or reproduce. The most obvious explanation would be because it helps them get leaves to eat from tall trees, but we are just guessing really.
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Katherine Haxton answered on 18 Mar 2012:
If you’re the only animal that can reach the leaves at the top of the tree, you’re probably going to get lots to eat while those animals that only eat the lower leaves have to fight over the food. Getting enough food means that creatures with the helpful trait, a long neck, may survive long enough to breed and pass their genes on. Their offspring will have long necks and so on and so forth. As Darren says, this is our best guess as to how Giraffes have evolved their long necks, but most evolution requires some kind of pressure to benefit those with certain traits, and getting a decent feed seems like enough pressure.
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