[Avodah] Giraffe is Kosher, Confirmed (Milk Clotting?)

[David Roth]

I'm sorry if you've already seen this question.  This is a slightly
updated version sent to the
proper forum (thanks Micha!).

An article was recently cited (partially quoted below) regarding the
kashrut of the giraffe
being confirmed through determining that its milk clotts.

Can anyone provide a little more information about this milk clotting
criterion and the
source for its use?

Is this milk-clotting criterion a reverse-engineering of the ruling
that all butter is kosher because non-kosher milk doesn't make butter
(Sh.A. Y.D. 113:3, Shakh there #27, Rambam 3:15)?  I hadn't heard of
this using this criterion to determine the kashrut of an animal, nor
was I aware that further confirmation of the giraffe's kashrut was
needed.

Here is the most relevant piece of the article (http://tinyurl.com/5krcu6):
>> The team, led by Professor Zohar Amar, took a routine sample of milk and
>> found that it clotted in the way required by Jewish law for kosher certification.
>>
>> They submitted more milk for verification by the rabbinical authorities and
>> the paper reported that a ruling was made that giraffe meat and milk are
>> acceptable for observant Jews.
>>
>> The giraffe belongs to the family of grazing animals that have cloven hooves
>> and chew the cud, thereby making them consistent with kosher rules, but the
>> milk test was the final confirmation.
>>
>> "Indeed, the giraffe is kosher for eating," Rabbi Shlomo Mahfoud, who
>> accompanied the researchers in their work, said.
>>
>> "The giraffe has all the signs of a ritually pure animal, and the milk that
>> forms curds strengthened that."

Is whether milk clots "in the way required by Jewish law for kosher
certification" a test which is often used in kosher certification?

If anything, I would say that this experiment strengthened the claim
that kosher animals produce milk that can be used to make butter.  We
know from the Torah that giraffes are kosher and used that fact to
confirm this claim.  Has anyone ever tested whether pig or horse milk
can be used to make butter or cheese?

Kol Tuv,
David