Necking is the name given to the manner male giraffes fight: with their long necks and huge hammerheads. With each swing, they try to hit one’s opponent’s body as powerfully as possible, keeping the neck or chest mostly in the focus of blows. The battles can sometimes turn heavy, and sometimes even the sounds of tuck reach a far distance with reverberations across the savanna. Despite the strength of each blow, giraffes are not known to engage in necking merely to overpower their inferior rivals. Instead, they like quite even and fair competitions. It is this sense of honor that separates giraffes from the lions or wolves that would intimidate others as a means of dominating them. Giraffes will only engage with others worth their time, out of respect for nature’s pecking order.
Another intriguing aspect of giraffe combat is their preference for alignment. Like humans who prefer either their left or right side, giraffes have also been known to be inclined towards one side during fights. What is even more fascinating about this is how the giraffes will accommodate one another’s preferences. If two giraffes begin to fight, they line up their bodies regarding the opponent’s preferred side. For example, if both of them swing from the right, they will position themselves head to tail. They stand side by side, facing in the same direction if one is a left-sider and the other a right-sider. This respect for each other’s natural inclination provides for a very well-balanced and harmonious duel where each giraffe is fighting at his best.
Further underscoring such grace and civility in dueling is the way giraffes exercise control of their selves during the battles. Despite the violence of their blows, giraffes show remarkable restraint. “When through the impact of a blow a giraffe loses its balance or stumbles, its opponent makes no effort to press its advantage, but waits and allows the other to compose itself before continuing the bout.” It is the unspoken code in this that reflects the special blend of power and discipline that is peculiar to the giraffe. This behavior, seen rarely in the animal kingdom, could have been very well utilized to get above a weakened opponent.
Besides being fair, necking is a physical wonder: “Two animals the size of small houses up to 18 feet tall and weighing more than a performing a synchronized combat dance is nothing short of poetry. Smooth, sweeping arcs in the air are lashed through by their long necks in a mesmerizing yet fearsome rhythm. It is a power dance where every movement is calculated and every swing is for a purpose. The contrasts between towering elegance and raw force in the blows to the imagination give a rare insight into the dynamics involved in animal conflict..
Despite the risk of injury, necking is seldom serious. The loser usually retires without further fuss when one animal has been beaten. Having established his dominance, the winner now has the right to mate or claim territory, and the loser leaves with pride intact. This end thus illustrates the giraffe’s regard for order rather than chaos, and respect rather than violence.
This is reminiscent of the wider perspective of animal behavior, where giraffe duels show that power need not be used injudiciously. While their battles can be fierce, they are conducted with an innate sense of fair play and respect. They epitomize the fact that even in the wild, where survival is usually ensured by strength, there is room for discipline, balance, and mutual respect.
Ultimately, fighting among giraffes represents a very rare and spellbinding combination of strength and grace. The uniquely fair and respectful way in which they conduct their battles, keeping instincts in mind and adhering to a certain set of unwritten codes, places them in a unique position among all of nature’s more civilized creations. To witness a giraffe duel is to experience a moment of raw yet refined beauty, where power and poise coexist in perfect harmony. It is a reminder that in the animal kingdom, too, there is beauty in the art of conflict.
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