giraffes purple tongue

Why do giraffes have purple tongues? BBC.. Why do giraffes have purple tongues? Why do giraffes have purple tongues? By . Charlotte Corney;. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to be licked by a giraffe, you’ll notice that their 50cm-long tongues can appear purple, bluish or almost black in colour. This is due to the density of dark ‘melanin’ colour pigments in them.

Why do giraffes have purple tongues? BBC.
Why do giraffes have purple tongues? BBC. from i.ytimg.com

The front of a giraffe's tongue is dark in colour (purple, blue or black) but the back and base of it is pink. Although not scientifically proven yet, many experts believe that this darker pigment is nature’s way of protecting giraffe tongues.