The trunk is a miracle of nature

THE NEW elephant facility is nearing completion at Dublin Zoo. It is not scheduled to open until late spring and, so as not to pre-empt the celebrations planned for then, I won't go into detail about it here.

Suffice it to say that Ireland's new herd of Asian elephants will have five-star state-of-the-art accommodation. The first three animals have already arrived; Dina, Jasmine and her little calf Anak have settled in well at their new home. The two sisters and a daughter hail from Rotterdam Zoo but are not yet on show to the public.

The giraffe developed its long neck so that it could feed on the leaves of trees. Its heart must pump extra hard to push blood up to the brain. But lowering the head to drink is a problem for such a tall creature. With the head down at a water hole, the pressure from the heart, combined with the weight of the blood, could lead to a brain haemorrhage. Although a valve reduces blood flow when the head is lowered, the giraffe's brain has to be small so as to minimise the demand for blood.