Bonnie Howarth, age 9, of Perry$ Iowa, for his question:

What use is the long, neck of the giraffe?

The giraffe is a browser, which means he eats leaves from trees and shrubs. His favorite food is acacia leaves, and he likes the tender green leaves from the top of the tree. These acacia trees thrive on the plains of "Africa, where the giraffe lives. They grow 20 to 30 feet tall, so the giraffe has to be a skyscraper to reach his favorite food.

Mr. Skyscraper has no more bones in his neck than does a cow or a horse. Each bone, however, is very long. With his long legs and his long neck the giraffe may stand 19 feet tall. He is the tallest animal in the world. Without his long neck and legs he could not feed high up in the boughs of the acacia tree.