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Inferred giraffe deaths from lightning strikes

In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin (1859) wrote that: ‘there must be much fortuitous destruction, which can have little or no influence on the course of natural selection’. His reasoning was that some organisms could be ‘the best adapted to their conditions… [but]…destroyed by accidental causes,’ such that ‘natural selection will be powerless’ in these instances. Stochastic factors, such as extreme weather events, can cause fatalities to individuals otherwise well-adapted to their environment. Specific atmospheric conditions create weather patterns

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Anaplasma Infections In Wild And Domestic Ruminants: A Review

Anaplasma marginale can be transmitted, will grow and can survive in a large number of domestic and wild animals. It is pathogenic in cattle, and usually produces nonapparent or mild infections in other species. Anaplasma marginale has been recovered from cattle, sheep, goats, water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus), black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana americana), Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis), black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnu),

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Delayed Post Mortem Predation in Lightning Strike Carcasses: Sense or Nonsense?

An adult giraffe was struck dead by lightning on a game farm outside Phalaborwa, South Africa in March 2014. Interestingly, delayed post-mortem predation occurred on the carcass, which according to the farm owners was an atypical phenomenon for the region. Delayed post-mortem scavenging on lightning strike carcasses has been anecdotally reported from time to time, although no formal studies have confirmed this phenomenon. The purpose of this article is to raise awareness of this phenomenon, with the view of more

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Brachygnathia Superior in a New-Born Giraffe Giraffa Camelopardalis Giraffa Schreber

A female giraffe, the sixth calf born to a 16-year old cow, displayed a deformity known as extreme brachygnathia superior and died some hours after birth. Death was ascribed to inability to breathe freely and inability to suckle. Possible pre-dispositions to the occurrence of such a deformity are examined in the light of this small closed herd. In-breeding could not be implicated in this case.

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