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Seasonal Dynamics Impact Habitat Preferences and Protected Area Use of the Critically Endangered Kordofan Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum)

Understanding animals’ habitat selection and movement behaviours relative to human activities is important for evaluating resource requirements and ensuring effective conservation management. The world’s largest remaining population of Kordofan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum) reside in Zakouma National Park, Chad. However, it is unclear whether the park boundaries sufficiently encompass the full range of this population’s preferred habitats. We used GPS telemetry data from 17 female giraffe over multiple years to better understand landscape and seasonal factors that influence their home

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Detection of Trichuris eggs in feces and soil from giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) and other hoofstock enclosures under human care in the USA

Trichuris spp. are nematode parasites infecting wild ruminants in zoological institutions worldwide. These helminths cause significant morbidity in giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) and other hoofstock located in zoological institutions throughout the United States. Historically, studies and institutions have used a variety of nematode detection methods with various flotation solutions. Optimization of Trichuris egg detection is necessary for monitoring collections. Fecal and soil optimized protocols were generated in this study using samples containing Trichuris eggs from multiple semi free-ranging zoological institutions. First,

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Ranging behaviours across ecological and anthropogenic disturbance gradients: a pan-African perspective of giraffe (Giraffa spp.) space use

Animal movement behaviours are shaped by diverse factors, including resource availability and human impacts on the landscape. We generated home range estimates and daily movement rate estimates for 148 giraffe (Giraffa spp.) from all four species across Africa to evaluate the effects of environmental productivity and anthropogenic disturbance on space use. Using the continuous time movement modelling framework and a novel application of mixed effects meta-regression, we summarized overall giraffe space use and tested for the effects of resource availability

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Giraffe make decisions based on statistical information

The ability to make inferences based on statistical information has so far been tested only in animals having large brains in relation to their body size, like primates and parrots. Here we tested if giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), despite having a smaller relative brain size, can rely on relative frequencies to predict sampling outcomes. We presented them with two transparent containers fled with different quantities of highly-liked food and less-preferred food. The experimenter covertly drew one piece of food from each container,

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Behavioural effects of a giraffe public feeding programme on Masai giraffe Giraffa tippelskirchi and plains zebra Equus quagga in a mixed species exhibit

Animal-visitor interactions are widely available in zoos and aquariums, yet the effects of these programmes on the welfare of the animals involved have only recently begun to be studied. The impact of one type of animal-visitor interaction, public hand feeding experiences, on the welfare of the participating Masai giraffe Giraffa tippelskirchi and the plains zebra Equus quagga co-housed with them was investigated, via behavioral observations before the public feeding season began and during the feeding season. A less time-intensive behavioral

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Evaluating the effects of giraffe skin disease and wire snare wounds on the gaits of free‑ranging Nubian giraffe

Giraffe skin disease (GSD), a condition that results in superficial lesions in certain giraffe (Girafa spp.) populations, has emerged as a potential conservation threat. Preliminary findings suggested that individuals with GSD lesions move with greater difficulty which may in turn reduce their foraging efficiency or make them more vulnerable to predation. A current known threat to some giraffe populations is their mortality associated with entrapment in wire snares, and the morbidity and potential locomotor deficiencies associated with wounds acquired from

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The cardiovascular challenges in giraffes

Giraffes are the highest living animals on Earth and therefore are challenged by gravity more than any other species. In particular the cardiovascular system needs to adapt to this challenge. Giraffes have a mean blood pressure around 200 mmHg, which ensures a mean arterial pressure near the head of 100 mmHg when the giraffe is standing with the neck in a near vertical position. This immediately raises several questions. How do giraffes avoid edema in the legs where the arterial

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Spatiotemporal habitat use of large African herbivores across a conservation border

The rapid expansion of human populations in East Africa increases human-wildlife interactions, particularly along borders of protected areas (PAs). This development calls for a better understanding of how humanmodified landscapes facilitate or exclude wildlife in savannas and whether these effects change through time. Here, we used camera traps to compare the distribution of 13 large herbivore species in Serengeti National Park with adjacent village lands used by livestock and people at both seasonal and diel cycle scales. The results show

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Applied Behavior Analysis and the Zoo: Forthman and Ogden (1992) Thirty Years Later

The field of applied behavior analysis has been directly involved in both research and applications of behavioral principles to improve the lives of captive zoo animals. Thirty years ago, Forthman and Ogden (1992) wrote one of the first papers documenting some of these efforts. Since that time, considerable work has been done using behavioral principles and procedures to guide zoo welfare efforts. The current paper re-examines and updates Forthman and Ogden’s original points, with attention to the five categories they

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Behavioural Changes in Zoo Animals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Long-Term, Multi Species Comparison

Visitors are a prominent feature of the zoo environment and lives of zoo animals. The COVID-19 pandemic led to repeated and extended closure periods for zoos worldwide. This unique period in zoological history enabled the opportunity to investigate the consistency of behavioural responses of zoo animals to closures and subsequent reopenings. Bennett’s wallabies (Notamacropus rufogriseus), meerkats (Suricata suricatta), macaws (red and green: Ara chloropterus; blue and yellow: Ara ararauna; military: Ara militaris) and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus) held at four

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