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Advances in Giraffe Nutrition

In the last decade, numerous publications have been written with regard to the nutrition of giraffe and other ruminant browsers maintained in zoological institutions, inspired by several health problems suspected to have a nutritional origin. Thus, reports of rumen acidosis, chronic wasting, peracute mortality syndrome, energy malnutrition, hoof disease, inverse serum calcium and phosphorus levels, mortality caused by cold stress, overall poor body condition, urolithiasis, serous fat atrophy, chronic energy deficiency, dental disease, and pancreatic disease, among others, have been

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Feeding behaviour of giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis in the Willem Pretorius Game Reserve, Orange Free State

The habitat and feeding behaviour of giraffe in the Willem Pretorius Game Reserve, Orange Free State, are described. Acacia karroo, the single most important component, together with Asparagus laricinus, Rhus undulata and Ziziphus mucronata, comprises almost 90% of the giraffe’s diet. During the wet season deciduous plants of the savanna flats are preferred, but in the dry season the animals concentrate on evergreen plants in the more densely vegetated kopjies. Seasonal variation with respect to the number of plant species

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Seasonal variation in the feeding ecology of black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis L.) in Laikipia, Kenya

Daily indirect observations were made on the diet and feeding habits of the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis L.) on Ol Ari Nyiro Ranch, Laikipia, Kenya over a six-month period. Individual rhinos were followed along their feeding tracks, plants consumed by tracked animals were identified and herbivory quantified. In total, 9665 individual feeding points were recorded at 1967 feeding stations. At least 103 plant species from at least 37 families were identified as rhino food plants. The diet of black rhinos

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The diet of a small group of extralimital giraffe

Giraffe are extralimital in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa where recent local introductions have persisted despite limited research into their impact on the indigenous flora. The diet of 15 giraffe at the Shamwari Game Reserve was recorded by direct observation during summer (March/April) and winter (July/August) 2001, quantifying diet by frequency of occurrence (individual records scored and expressed as a percentage of the total). Preference indices were also calculated. Habitat use was measured by the number of hours giraffe

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Energy and Fibre Intake in a Group of Captive Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) Offered Increasing Amounts of Browse

We investigated the effect of diet on intake of energy and fibre in a group of three captive adult giraffe by weighing offered diet items and leftovers for 7 days after an adaptation period of 7 days. Digestion coefficients were calculated using, as internal marker, the acid detergent lignin content of a faecal sample pooled from subsamples taken during the last 5 days of intake measurement. Two lucerne hay-only diets of differing quality (L1, L2) were fed, as well as

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Diet and Feeding Effects of Introduced Giraffe in the Eastern Cape.

This study presents the results of a study on introduced giraffe diet and feeding effects within the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Five sites were selected over a moisture gradient from the mesic east to the arid west of the Eastern Cape to describe giraffe diet and provide baseline data for feeding effect experiments. At each site faecal samples were collected seasonally and diet composition determined by microhistological analysis. Plant species availability was measured using the point intersect method

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Impacts de l’occupation des sols sur l’habitat la girafe au Niger et enjeux pour la sauvegarde du dernier troupeau de girafes de l’Afrique de l’Ouest

The giraffes of Niger (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) live freely in an environment highly colonized by man called, the zone of transition of the Reserve of Biosphere of the W Regional Park of Niger. The agricultural practices in synergy with the high demographic pressure and the recurring droughts infer an accelerated degradation of the natural forest of this zone, and consequently a fragmentation of the giraffe habitat will even change its behavior. Therefore, an exponential growth of the population of giraffes

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Prey preferences of the spotted hyaena ( Crocuta crocuta ) and degree of dietary overlap with the lion (Panthera leo)

Spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta were once considered mere scavengers; however, detailed research revealed that they are very efficient predators. Information on what spotted hyaenas actually prefer to prey on and what they avoid is lacking, as well as the factors that influence prey selection. Data from 14 published and one unpublished study from six countries throughout the distribution of the spotted hyaena were used to determine which prey species were preferred and which were avoided using Jacobs’ index. The mean

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The diet and ecological role of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) introduced to the Eastern Cape, South Africa

With an increase in the popularity of wildlife ranching in southern Africa has come the introduction of non-native (extralimital) mammalian herbivores. Financial gain has arguably been at the forefront of these introductions, with little or no assessment of the ecological consequences. The diet of three populations of introduced giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis was assessed by direct observation in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa between January 2002 and October 2003, as the first step towards understanding the ecological role played by

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