Magic Mouth

After being both amused and amazed by the giraffe's tongue in this image, I checked online to learn more about them and thought I'd share some interesting facts along with this photo. Giraffes have a prehensile tongue approximately 50 centimeters (20 in) long. The tongue is colored bluish-black to protect it from sunburn, and the giraffe uses it much like an elephant uses its trunk - it grasps things with it and uses it for personal grooming, such as picking its nose and cleaning its ears. The snake-like tongue is especially useful for obtaining food - the giraffe can just wrap it around the foliage and yank it into its mouth. The giraffe's large upper lip is also prehensile, which gives the mouth an almost hand-like dexterity when combined with the tongue. And there you have it . . . a Magic Mouth!

[Shy Abel]

Look at that tongue, what a great capture lol

[Jay Butterfield]

Great shot!

[Chris K]

great shot and fantastic information. Had no idea its tongue was so long

[Diane]

Fantastic shot, Giraffes seem to have their tongues out a lot, I remember getting a shot at the zoo with tongue out too. haha. Fav

[Helen Jane]

Have you had a day out at the zoo Gayle? What an astonishing tongue pose..beats almost all of the teenage silly pose, tongue out, selfish I see on Facebook.

[Milanie]

That is so neat about the giraffes' tongues - only thing I knew was that it was black. What a great close-up shot.

[Gayle]

@shylaine3304 Thank you, Erika! I appreciate your comment and fav! :-)

[Gayle]

@jaybutterfield Thanks for viewing and commenting, Jay! :-)

[Gayle]

@cruiser Thanks so much for your comment, Chris! The tongue length was new info for me also. Amazing, isn't it? :-)

[Gayle]

@dianeburns Thanks for your terrific comment and fav, Diane! Those tongues do seem to spend most of the time out of their mouths. :-)

[Gayle]

@helenhall Thanks so much for commenting, Helen! Yes, I had a wonderful day out at the zoo! :-)

[Gayle]

@milaniet Thank you, Milanie! I appreciate your comment! :-)

[Richard]

Wow...something I never knew. Excellent capture!

[Joss]

Interesting information Gayle, every day you can learn something new, even where you least expect it. Very good dof and beautiful portrait :)

[Jenfurj]

Wow, wonderful information . Thank you for keeping us all learning:)

[Dyan Stevens]

Such a fun picture. Makes me want to head to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to feed the lot of them...while taking pictures of course.

[gloria jones]

Great timing and capture

[Catherine P]

Brilliant capture. I love the expression on his face!

[TJ Photos]

So Gorgeous! I love giraffes.....and thanks for the information.

[Irene Marshall]

Thanks for the info.great capture.

[ShirleyB]

Beautiful shot and great timing. I never know a giraffes mouth was so unusual

[Merrelyn]

Great capture Gayle. I couldn't believe the colour of their tongues when I first saw them :)

[Elisabeth Sæter]

Great close up

[Gayle]

@woodlandsphotog Thanks so much for your comment and fav, Richard!

[Gayle]

@jossette Thanks for your very nice comment, Joss! Yes, how marvelous that we can learn something new every day! :-)

[Gayle]

@365projectorgjenfurj Thanks so much for commenting, Jen! :-)

[Gayle]

@dyanstevens Thanks for your comment, Dyan! The zoo is such a fun place...and great for photos! :-)

[Gayle]

@seattlite Thank you so much for your comment and fav, Gloria! Much appreciated! :-)

[Gayle]

@cmp Thanks so much for commenting, Catherine! Their expressions are priceless! :-)

[Gayle]

@tj22 Thank you for your comment, TJ! They are such interesting animals! :-)

[Gayle]

@irene111 Thanks so much for commenting, Irene! :-)

[Issi Bannerman]

What a wonderful image and an even better bit of information about that magic mouth. A 20 inch tongue?! Well, I never!

[Gayle]

@shirleybankfarm Thank you for your comment, Shirley! Yes, quite interesting mouths! :-)

[Gayle]

@merrelyn Thank you, Merrelyn! I appreciate your comment! :-)

[Gayle]

@elisasaeter Thanks so much for commenting, Elisabeth! :-)

[Gayle]

@jamibann I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get a shot of the 20 inch tongue fully extended . . . another day perhaps! :-)

[bkb in the city]

Fun shot and some interesting info

[Stephanie Swift]

Great capture and fascinating information, fav!

[Louise & Ken]

Cool photo and fascinating information! I was watching an okapi at the zoo recently and was blown away to see him put his tongue to his ear! Clearly they're related to the giraffe!

[Gayle]

@bkbinthecity Thanks so much for commenting, Brian! :-)

[Gayle]

@tristansmum Thank you, Stephanie! I appreciate your comment and fav! :-)

[Gayle]

@Weezilou Thanks so much for viewing and commenting, Louise! I was curious about the okapi so I looked it up and sure enough, it is closely related to the giraffe. :-) If you have time, check out this extra photo I posted yesterday . . . http://365project.org/gaylewood/extras/2016-04-14 . . . the deer usually manage to finish up any leftover birdseed and I was finally able to get a shot of them in the act. :-)