Gary Larson's iconic comic strip The Far Side featured all kinds of non-human characters, from the tiniest insects to the most massive whales – and in between were the long-necked giraffes, a funny-looking animal that was perfect for Gary Larson's comedic sensibilities; repeatedly throughout the years, Larson had a field day with the savanna-dwelling animals.

Yet, somewhat surprisingly, giraffes were not featured in The Far Side nearly as much as one would have thought, but when they were, the result was multiple fan-favorite comics.

The comic strips that The Far Side featured giraffes front and center remain classics of the property, being side-splitting funny in a way only The Far Side could. Giraffes are adored animals, with many citing the leggy (and necky) animal as their favorite. With huge eyes and a sweet disposition, it is no wonder that giraffes are so widely beloved in the real world and The Far Side.

8 "There's Something Different About That Kid": A Potential Paternity Dispute, Far Side Style

First Published: June 2, 1980

In this early Far Side cartoon, a rhino takes a look at his child and notices something not quite expected: the child has a giraffe neck and head while possessing a rhino's body. Not helping matters is the child's mother, who looks on nervously as the father rhino is perplexed by his own child's appearance. These rhinos may need to go on Maury – the daytime talk show infamous for its "you are the father" paternity test segments – because, to be perfectly honest, it does not exactly take a genius to deduce that the giraffe-rhino hybrid may have a different father than his rhino dad expects.

There may be ligers or donkeys as hybrid animals but a giraffe-rhino hybrid (a rhiaffe?) is one that is definitely on the more unusual side. While the rhino may not be able to put his finger yet on what makes his child so different from him, it is just a matter of time before the pieces click into place for him.

7 "Well, So Much For The Unicorns": The Dark Secret History Of Noah's Ark

First Published: December 31, 1981

In a scene that is meant to be Noah's Ark, Noah chastises the animals for eating the unicorns, the only two left on Earth; as a result, there is a necessity to separate the carnivores on the boat onto a deck of their own while the innocent giraffes look on. The two carnivores on the boat eye each other, knowing that they are the reason the world will never get a chance to see majestic and whimsical unicorns The Far Side.

All the other animals on the boat can't help themselves from looking on awkwardly and shocked, upset by the last of the unicorns being wiped away for the purpose of lunch for their big cat boatmates. The giraffes do not look at all happy about the events that have taken place on the boat, but luckily for them, they will not be put onto Deck C with the carnivores.

6 "You've Got To Watch Out For Them Gopher Holes": The Far Side Reveals Giraffes' Unexpected Enemy In Nature

First Published: April 5, 1983

Out on the plains, a giraffe warns his peer of an environmental hazard that they all should know, when they see his fellow giraffe, Roger, stuck in a gopher hole with only his head visible; hilariously, the gopher holes must be incredibly deep to fit the entirety of the giraffe's 18-foot frame, leaving only his head sticking out of the ground. The giraffes should really consider some cones for the gopher holes, or else the Rogers of their clan are going to get stuck more times than they would like to happen, which is ideally no times at all.

Poking fun at the immense size of giraffes, The Far Side adds a slapstick touch to this silly comic strip, with something like seemingly innocuous gopher holes being the achilles heel to these animals of the savanna.

5 "I Guess A Fly Strip And You In The Same House Isn't Going To Work Out": Gary Larson On The Perils Of Giraffe Domestication

First Published: June 16, 1985

A fly strip is a strip made of paper, which usually hangs from the ceiling, that has a sticky substance on it that traps flies to kill them and lessen the amount of flying bugs in the house. The fly strips are not used that frequently anymore due to the unpleasant scent that the products can release to attract the flies to trap. Regardless, that did not stop The Far Side from making a joke about the pest killer method and one very long necked mammal.

In the comic strip, a giraffe gets grossed out by their housemate for getting a fly strip stuck to their face, bemoaning that they will not be able to have a fly strip in the house; the giraffe is so tall that they get the fly strip in the ceiling stuck to them just walking around their own house.

4 "Just The Hundredth Time You've Managed To Cut Everyone's Head Off": The Far Side On Why Giraffe Vacations are Hard To Document

First Published: April 2, 1986

Before people could pictures to social media, or send them to each other, the most effective way to show people pictures was a photo slide show at home, where everyone could view blown-up versions of the photos. The Far Side shows that even giraffes utilize photo slides to look at their images. Although, much like people, sometimes the one taking the picture does not do a great job of getting everyone into the frame; one of the giraffes is not happy at all that yet again, everyone's head has been cut off in the pictures.

To be fair, it would be pretty easy to accidentally leave out a giraffe's head since there is only so tall a picture can be. A selfie would be an absolute nightmare for the giraffe of the comic strip who just cannot, for the life of them, get everyone's head in the picture.

3 Gary Larson Reveals The Potential Perils Of "Giraffe Beach Parties"

First Published: October 16, 1987

Limbo is a fun pastime to play on the beach, with everyone getting in on the fun; as it turns out, giraffes also like to have some fun in the sun with a game of limbo too. As The Far Side shows, giraffes have quite the obstacle to overcome in their limbo playing: their extremely long necks. Just regular height-possessing people have a hard-enough time playing limbo. However, it does not hinder the giraffes any, with them being able to go as low as they can go, which turns out to be pretty low.

Giraffes apparently like a challenge, with limbo not being the easiest game for the extremely tall animals but they are in it to win it, especially the giraffe in the comic strip who successfully avoids touching the limbo stick despite it being dangerous close to the sandy ground.

2 The Far Side Offers A Glimpse At "Scenes From The Film Giraffes IV"

First Published: October 10, 1988

In a Far Side universe, there have been 3 Giraffe movies, with the next installment being Giraffes IV. In the new Giraffes entry to the movie franchise, the giraffes do not seem to be benevolent this time around, with people running away from them while they poke their heads into a building on a fire. Rather than searching for some delicious acacia leaves to eat, the giraffes are definitely up to something else and it does not seem like anything good. Typically, giraffes are incredibly gentle and friendly animals, even to humans.

However, whatever the events are of the fourth movie in the Giraffes movie series apparently changes their nature up a bit, with some pandemonium in store rather than acacia leaves. The Far Side has referenced movies before like Jaws, however this comic is unique in that it introduces a movie original to the comic series.

1 "Have You Seen Me?": The Far Side Shows How Giraffes Are Just Like Us

First Published: February 24, 1992

A giraffe sits at their breakfast table, eating their cereal while looking at the missing giraffe on the milk carton in front of them. Given that giraffes have necks with lengths many times that of a human's, the milk cartons need to be much taller than the average human milk carton to accommodate for the neck size of the missing giraffe. An upside to the massive size of the milk carton is that there is a whole lot of milk in there.

Although, it is unfortunate that even in The Far Side, there are missing individuals. Then again, dark humor is a major component of The Far Side. Also, a funny small detail of this Far Side comic strip is that the cereal the giraffe is eating is Acacia Oats, which is a riff on the acacia leaves that giraffes eat but in cereal form to make the character more anthropomorphized.