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Al-Qazwini: Aja'ib al-makhluqat (about Giraffes)
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Taken from: Die Wunder des Himmels und der Erde by Zakuriya Ibn Muhammad al Quazwini, ‎Alma Gieser

Plus a collection of Giraffes as found in his manuscripts.

 

The giraffe

In Persian the Giraffe is called: Camel Cow Panther. The head is like the head of the camel, her horns like the horns of the cow, her skin as the skin of the panther, her legs are as belonging to the camel, and their split hooves are like the cattle. She has a very long neck, long forelimbs and short hind legs, and her appearance is close to the camel; the fur resembles that of the leopard, and the tail is like the tail of the gazelle. They say the giraffe descended from the Abyssinian camel, the antelope and the male hyena; namely, it is so that in Abyssinia the hyena males fertilize the camel, and then they bring forth a young one whose shape is between the shape of the camel and the hyena. Now, when the young of this camel is a male and it copulates with the antelope, it brings the giraffe into the world.

 

Taimath al-Hakim (1) reported, in an area near the equator congregate by the artificial waterholes in summer animals of various kinds, because they have strong thirst. Then it happens that different kinds of animals fertilize each other and at these places are made something like the giraffe, the African Wild Dog, the Isbar and the likes. The Giraffe is of a remarkable kind; except for the elegance of its appearance and the strange nature of their hybridization nothing of it is known.

 

Taken from: Kosmographie: Die Wunder der Schöpfung, (in arab) By Zakarīyā Ibn-Muḥammad al- Qazwīnī

P449

(When talking about hybrid animals) (And from them) born between hyenas, camels and feral cows, is the giraffe, it is born between these three and has been mentioned in the chapter of animals, so we do not repeat it.

(1) Timothy of Gaza is meant here.











Often other animals are drawn and named giraffe; mostly the camel (Cross between a camel and an ox) and rarely an other animal. The two above come from the same manuscript.