Giraffes Get Their Spots From Their Mamas

Giraffes are pretty much known for one thing: their long, luxurious necks. As my three-year-old’s animal books make clear, rhinos have the nose-horns, lions have those manes and giraffes are the tall ones. That’s their thing.

But observant animal lovers will also note that giraffes have spots. In fact, they helped lend the species their official name, Giraffa camelopardalis. Apparently the Greeks thought giraffes looked kind of like a camel with a leopard’s spots. And it turns out these d