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What makes a giraffe stand tall?
They loom over us at the zoo and capture the imagination of children. Such an improbable animal is the giraffe with its huge bulk suspended over long, thin legs and covered with a hard-to-miss pattern. They water awkwardly and seem delicate from a distance, despite their height.
However, scientists have uncovered one element of the overall giraffe design that allows the improbable to be possible. In an unusually deep groove or channel on the lower leg bone is an exceptionally strong ligament that allows the great mass of bodyweight the giraffe carries to remain safely suspended above the ground.
Researchers used the remains of giraffes that had died in captivity to gather data to test the actual strength of this ligament system. These super-strong ligaments allow giraffe legs to remain stiff and require less muscle engagement and thus fatigue. The findings will be helpful to further study of giraffe anatomy and also to the study and development of robotics, which takes many of its cues from animal design (Victoria Gill, “Giraffe Legs’ Strong, Skinny Secret,” BBC at BBC.com, July 2, 2014).
Jesus Christ, who before his human birth was the Creator God, designed and brought into existence all the “creeping things” or living, land based creatures on the sixth day, shortly before he created the first man, Adam (Genesis 1:24-25). The giraffe, with its spectacular ligament design would have been among this phenomenal part of the creation.
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Keywords: animal design giraffes intelligent design
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