According to fossil records, giraffes first differentiated from deer in the early Miocene. The earliest giraffe fossils are Climacoceras and Canthumeryx. Later, it evolved into an ancient giraffe, a giraffe ancestor with short horns and short necks in the early Miocene. By the late Miocene, Gu Lin had evolved into Samotherium. In Pliocene, Samoan animals were divided into two branches, one was Hogan and the other was the earliest modern giraffe. Hogan is one of the only two animals left in the giraffe family, and its appearance basically reflects the appearance of the Miocene giraffe, which is very rare. This is a representative species of Guriaceae, which is distributed in the tropical rain forest in eastern Congo, Africa, and maintains many primitive characteristics.
Giraffe is a giraffe that lives in the savanna. Because the trees in savanna are mostly umbrella-shaped and the leaves are concentrated in the upper layer, giraffes have evolved long necks and limbs and can eat leaves. There is only one species of giraffe in the subfamily Giraffe, which is widely distributed in the savanna of Africa. It is the tallest living animal and one of the most familiar African animals.
There is also an evolving giraffe called Shiva beast, which is a stout animal with four horns. Now it has been extinct in the Quaternary extinction event. The bronze statues of some animals found in the Summarian cultural site are similar to the Siva beast. This shows that the Siva beast has probably survived in the Middle East for thousands of years. 600 years ago, Zheng He went to the Western Seas in the Ming Dynasty in China, with a history as far away as Africa. It is said that the reason for running so far is to look for the auspicious animal "Kirin" in China. In the ancient legend of China, unicorns appeared in the world, which bodes well for the country's prosperity and peace. However, no one has seen the deer, oxtail and unicorn described in this ancient book, so some people have always doubted whether it really exists. In the 12th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 14 14), on September 20th, Zheng He brought a giraffe back to Min Yang as a tribute to the new king Saifuddin of Bangra (now Bangladesh), which made the Ming Dynasty stunned the whole country. The scene at that time was like Shen Du's ode, which described "the people gathered to watch and were overjoyed". A poem once praised: "Southwest China, boundless sea, true unicorn, five feet high, elk hooves, meat horns, literary talent, red clouds and purple fog, and impractical toes, you must choose to swim."
Because the giraffe's appearance and habits are too consistent with the Kirin described in China's ancient books, after further understanding, it is found that the giraffe's origin is in East Africa, and the local Somali language calls it "Jiri", which is very similar to the pronunciation of Kirin, which makes China people believe that the giraffe is Kirin. So Zheng He's fleet sailed to West Asia for the fourth time, bypassed the Arabian Peninsula, made its maiden voyage to East Africa, and arrived at the giraffe's hometown in the 13th year of Yongle. In the same year, Zheng He's fleet returned to China, and ambassadors from various countries gathered together, including Marin State in East Africa (located in Malindi; One said he was an emissary of Kilwa Kisiwani in Tanzania. He gave a giraffe from his own country to Emperor Yongle. In the 14th year of Yongle (A.D. 14 16), Marin paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty for the second time. Ma Huan's book Ying Ya Sheng Lan describes the beast as follows: "Kirin, its first two feet are more than nine feet high, its last two feet are about six feet high, its head is ten feet, its neck is six feet long, and its toes are high and its back is low, so no one can ride it. There are two horns on the head, in the ears. Oxtail deer has three hooves and a nameplate. Eat millet, beans and cakes. " It is not difficult to see that the so-called "Kirin" is also a giraffe. According to Ming History, in the third year of orthodoxy (A.D. 1438), Bongla paid tribute to "Kirin". Why can Bangla in South Asia, which does not produce giraffes, pay tribute repeatedly? Historians believe that this is related to the international situation and maritime trade at that time. Before the great geographical discovery, Arabs controlled the maritime trade between East and West. Their dhows not only transport general goods, but also transport horses from Arabia and Somalia to India, and even transport elephants from Myanmar and Sri Lanka to India. Since dhows can carry horses and elephants, it is certainly no problem for Arabs to transport giraffes from East Africa, which they partially occupied, to Bangra, which also believes in Islam.
Today, Japanese and Koreans still call giraffes Kirin, and Taiwan Province also calls giraffes Kirin deer.
According to overseas media reports, an Asian-looking aborigine was found in Kenya, Africa. He claimed to be a sailor descendant of Zheng He's fleet and revealed that his ancestors had sent giraffes to China. giraffe
The young jailer found that the monthly increase in the length of each physical examination was at the back of the neck.
He reported to the warden, "Sir, the window is too high!" " "
And the answer he got was: "No, they are looking forward to the years."
The kind young jailer knows nothing about the appearance, birthplace and whereabouts of the years;
I go to the zoo every night and wander around under the giraffe fence, waiting for the right time.