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Giraffe birth locations in the South Luangwa National Park, Zambia: site fidelity or microhabitat selection?

Birth site location can have enormous implications for female reproductive success. Some ungulate species demonstrate consistent birth site fidelity, while others shift birth locations during their lifetimes as a function of ecological and social factors. We plotted 39 years of birth records from a wild population of Thornicroft’s giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis thornicrofti, to test the hypothesis that giraffe use consistent locations for birth. Data from 29 calves born to nine females revealed that birth seasonality was absent and that ecological

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Gazing at a giraffe gyroscope: where are we going?

Giraffe are popular animals to watch while on wildlife safaris, and feature prominently in zoos, advertisements, toys and cartoons. Yet, until recently, few field studies have focused on giraffe. We introduce this giraffe topic issue with a review essay that explores five primary questions: How many (sub) species of giraffe exist? What are the dynamics of giraffe herds? How do giraffe communicate? What is the role of sexual selection in giraffe reproduction? How many giraffe reside in Africa? A confluence

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Nocturnal “humming” vocalizations: adding a piece to the puzzle of giraffe vocal communication

Background: Recent research reveals that giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis sp.) exhibit a socially structured, fission– fusion system. In other species possessing this kind of society, information exchange is important and vocal communication is usually well developed. But is this true for giraffes? Giraffes are known to produce sounds, but there is no evidence that they use vocalizations for communication. Reports on giraffe vocalizations are mainly anecdotal and the missing acoustic descriptions make it difficult to establish a call nomenclature. Despite inconclusive

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Analysis of Angolan Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis) Post-Translocation Movement Patterns and Implications for Conservation Management in Namibia

Wildlife translocation is a conservation management strategy that has been employed to bolster many diminishing wild animal populations. Giraffe translocations are currently being conducted in Africa, but the consequences of such remain largely unknown. In Namibia, translocations are conducted to re-establish locally extirpated populations or to recover vulnerable ones in and around communal conservancies. This study analyzed the movement patterns of six Angolan giraffes in Namibia post-translocation in three regions. Four of the six giraffes appeared to establish home ranges,

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Mitochondrial sequences reveal a clear separation between Angolan and South African giraffe along a cryptic rift valley

Background: The current taxonomy of the African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is primarily based on pelage pattern and geographic distribution, and nine subspecies are currently recognized. Although genetic studies have been conducted, their resolution is low, mainly due to limited sampling. Detailed knowledge about the genetic variation and phylogeography of the South African giraffe (G. c. giraffa) and the Angolan giraffe (G. c. angolensis) is lacking. We investigate genetic variation among giraffe matrilines by increased sampling, with a focus on giraffe

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The composition and function of all-male herds of Thornicroft’s giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis thornicrofti, in Zambia

Temporary all-male social groups are formed in a number of animal species. We examined 34 years of data collected from 36 male Thornicroft’s giraffe in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia, to test a set of predictions related to five possible functions of all-male herds (predator protection, practicing aggressive skills, prolonging life, nutritional demands and resource learning). We found that all-male herds were significantly smaller than mixed-sex herds, usually contained a mature bull, and were not dependent upon season or habitat. Dyadic

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Giraffe Helmholtz resonance

Introduction The following acoustical assessment documents infrasonic vocalizations that are produced by giraffe and demonstrates these vocalizations occur in social contexts. It also proposes that Helmholtz resonance is used to produce such vocalizations. Giraffes are large ruminant browsers that live in sub-Saharan Africa. Giraffe females and young are usually sighted in small groups whose composition can change from day to day, while adult males live alone briefly joining groups of females to breed . Giraffes recognize each other “personally”, maintain

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Linking social and pathogen transmission networks using microbial genetics in giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

Although network analysis has drawn considerable attention as a promising tool for disease ecology, empirical research has been hindered by limitations in detecting the occurrence of pathogen transmission (who transmitted to whom) within social networks. Using a novel approach, we utilize the genetics of a diverse microbe, Escherichia coli, to infer where direct or indirect transmission has occurred and use these data to construct transmission networks for a wild giraffe population (Giraffe camelopardalis). Individuals were considered to be a part

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Behavioural inventory of the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

Background: Numerous factors like continuous habitat reduction or fragmentation for free-ranging giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) as well as e.g. suboptimal housing conditions for animals in captivity might lead to behavioural alterations as part of the overall adaptation process to the changing living conditions. In order to facilitate current and future studies on giraffe behaviour, a comprehensive ethogram was compiled based on existing literature, as well as observations on giraffes in the wild (Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe; Entabeni Game Reserve, South Africa),

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