Truth or Tail: Giraffe have prehensile tongues

Truth or Tail?

Giraffe have prehensile tongues.

Truth!

Just like an elephant’s trunk or a monkey’s tail – giraffe have a prehensile tongue! Basically it means they have fine muscular control allowing them to grasp and hold things. A giraffe’s tongue is also the strongest of any animal, and it can be an impressive 18 inches long! For comparison, the average human tongue is between 3 to 3.5 inches long.

Their long, strong, and prehensile tongues allow giraffe to selectively pluck leaves from in between thorns found on some of their preferred feeding trees. To kick the tongue’s coolness-factor up a notch, it is surrounded by a thick layer of glue-like saliva that also helps protect the giraffe’s mouth from sticks and thorns. I would say the giraffe licks the competition for the world’s coolest tongue!