David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive Page #5

of the length of her tail,

and the way the joints work,

she must have been able to crack it

like a whip.

The muscular strength

that enabled her to hold her tail

above the ground

meant that she could, if necessary,

use it as a weapon.

Her tail would have helped

to balance her long, heavy neck,

but why was that so long?

It used to be thought

that she lived in rivers

and needed her neck to break the

surface in order to breathe

But that can't have been true,

because if her body was submerged,

the pressure of the water

would have crushed her lungs.

The most likely explanation

seems to be

that her huge neck helped her

reach vast quantities of leaves.

Sweeping it from side to side,

she could cover

a larger grazing area.

She could also push her head

between forest trees

to reach ferns

and other ground vegetation.

In order to reach the highest,

most succulent leaves in the forest,

it seems likely that Dippy would

have reared up on her hind legs.

Come on, Dippy.

Breakfast. Come on.

Oh, hello.

London's Natural History Museum

is full of wonders.

It's a place where we can get

a vivid idea

of the great variety of life

that inhabits our planet,

both today and in the past,

especially after a night like that.

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