Pamela Zygmunt, age 8, of Utica, N.Y., for her question:

HOW DO ANIMALS LAP UP LIQUIDS?

Next time you give your pet a dish of water, watch how easily his tongue laps it up. Most mammals lap water frequently  and effortlessly, and their tongues are designed perfectly for the task.  They are long enough and curl just right, forming a sort of built in mini cup with which to take in liquids. Animals' tongues differ greatly, however, because besides drinking they serve other important purposes.

The giraffe's black tongue, for example, is long and sticky so that leaves, shoots and twigs in tall trees can be grabbed and munched easily. Members of the cat family have extremely coarse tongues, as rough as files, to enable them to clean themselves and also to lick meat off the bones of fallen prey. The tongue of the anteater is truly specialized, darting out eight inches or more to press hundreds of insects to its sticky surface.