Culled giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa were dissected into standard cuts as far as possible and their mass was determined. Carcass composition was studied by means of buttock dissections and meat quality by means of muscle fiber diameter measurements. Mean total body mass of adult males was 1 174,3 +/- 31,5 kg and of adult females was 791,8 +/- 17,6 kg. There were significant seasonal differences in total body mass and in the case of females the amount of fat present