Dr Darren Naish, of the University of Portsmouth, and Dr Donald Henderson, of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Canada, decided to investigate whether or not giraffes could swim.
Their study, published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, examines what happened when scientists placed a 'digital giraffe' in 'digital water'.
Dr Naish said: "Many previous studies have claimed that giraffes cannot swim and that they avoid water like the plague, even in an emergency, but we wanted to put the theory to the test in proper controlled experiments."
Creating a digital giraffe involved calculations on weight, mass, size, shape, lung capacity and centre of gravity. Calculations were made to discover rotation dynamics, flotation dynamics and the external surface area of both a giraffe and - for comparison - a horse.
The authors found that a full-sized adult giraffe would become buoyant in 2.8metres of water. Giraffes can wade across bodies of water that are shallower.
But after becoming buoyant, a giraffe would be unstable in the water due to its long, heavy legs, short body and long neck.
The unusual shape of the giraffe meant that it floated in a peculiar manner, with the long front limbs pulling the body downwards.
Dr Naish said: "Our models show that while it's feasible for a giraffe to swim, it is much harder than it is for a horse.
"It is fair to say that giraffes might be hesitant to enter the water knowing that they are at a decided disadvantage compared to being on solid ground."
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