The issue with that is it would create a very large lever arm (not really a lever arm, but it's the closest way I have to describe it) with the buoyancy force of the neck disappearing unless the neck is placed in the water, and if the giraffe is holding it's head up higher, the angle necessary to have the neck in the water while the body (the other significant buoyancy provider) is also in the water would dunk even more of the giraffe's face in the water, almost certainly plunging the giraffe's nostrils and mouth below the surface.
So you see how its front legs droop so much because they're so heavy? This means its torso is tilted far forwards and so it can't really lift its neck much more.
But giraffes can stand on flat ground and reach their head almost straight up above them. I tried to match the body position in the comparison image I made. I'm not sure why they think the giraffe's legs would be so far forward but it doesn't matter because it shows neck mobility. Anyways, in their image the neck and head are horizontal to the top of the giraffes back. You know they can lift their head higher than horizontal with their body. edit: I think their image may actually be correct because the weight of their neck would need to be in the water so it doesn't push them underwater. They would need to tilt their head up to breathe. But yeah this has nothing to do with neck mobility.
14 Comments
SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world · 6 pts · 155d
The better question with giraffes is ‘will it blend?’.
Robotunicorn@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 154d
What also floats in water? Churches! Very small rocks…
SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 154d
Now I wanna throw a church into water to see if it floats!
FenrirIII@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 154d
It has to be full or it doesn't count
finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 154d
Why don't ... why don't they just throw a giraffe in water to see what happens?
workerONE@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 155d
They have good neck mobility, able to reach high up so I'd say they could hold their head above the water like a snorkel
imadethis@fedinsfw.app · 6 pts · 155d
The issue with that is it would create a very large lever arm (not really a lever arm, but it's the closest way I have to describe it) with the buoyancy force of the neck disappearing unless the neck is placed in the water, and if the giraffe is holding it's head up higher, the angle necessary to have the neck in the water while the body (the other significant buoyancy provider) is also in the water would dunk even more of the giraffe's face in the water, almost certainly plunging the giraffe's nostrils and mouth below the surface.
SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 154d
Oh yeah, like those Land Rovers that have a pipe for their air intake
m0darn@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 155d
So you see how its front legs droop so much because they're so heavy? This means its torso is tilted far forwards and so it can't really lift its neck much more.
workerONE@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 155d
But giraffes can stand on flat ground and reach their head almost straight up above them. I tried to match the body position in the comparison image I made. I'm not sure why they think the giraffe's legs would be so far forward but it doesn't matter because it shows neck mobility. Anyways, in their image the neck and head are horizontal to the top of the giraffes back. You know they can lift their head higher than horizontal with their body. edit: I think their image may actually be correct because the weight of their neck would need to be in the water so it doesn't push them underwater. They would need to tilt their head up to breathe. But yeah this has nothing to do with neck mobility.
m0darn@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 155d
Yeah, maybe it's because if they crane their neck upwards, their rump rises instead of their head
workerONE@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 154d
Or maybe they'd swim like this
workerONE@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 154d
Or maybe like this
SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 154d
Ooh, this image makes it very clear why the floating position must be so uncomfortable for them