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Fission-fusion dynamics in wild giraffes may be driven by kinship, spatial overlap and individual social preferences

Many species exhibit fission-fusion dynamics, yet the factors that influence the frequent changes in group size and membership in these species have not been widely studied. Social ties may be influenced by kinship but animals may also form preferred associations because of social attraction or may only associate because they have similar habitat preferences. We investigated the association patterns of 535 wild giraffes, Giraffa camelopardalis, in Etosha National Park, Namibia using behavioural and genetic data from individually identified giraffes. We

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Serum concentration comparisons of amino acids, fatty acids, lipoproteins, vitamins A and E, and minerals between zoo and free-ranging giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis)

Serum concentrations of amino acids, fatty acids, lipoproteins, vitamins A and E, and minerals in zoo giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) were compared to values obtained from free-ranging giraffes in an effort to identify potential nutritional differences in the zoo population. Zoo giraffes have a specific set of maladies that may be nutritionally related, including peracute mortality, energy malnutrition, pancreatic disease, urolithiasis, hoof disease, and severe intestinal parasitism. Dietary requirements for giraffes are not known; invasive studies used with domestic animals cannot

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Characterization of eight polymorphic loci for Maasai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) using non-invasive genetic samples

We used Illumina sequencing to develop eight novel microsatellite loci for Maasai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi), and screened them using fecal DNA. Genetic diversity was assessed for 40 individuals from the Katavi National Park/Rukwa Game Reserve ecosystem in Tanzania. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 14 (mean = 6.2) and mean expected heterozygosity was moderate (range 0.025–0.838, mean = 0.527). These markers were successfully tested using degraded DNA and may be useful for future studies of

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Social networks, long-term associations and age-related sociability of wild giraffes

Long-term studies of sociality in wild animals are rare, despite being critical for determining the benefits of social relationships and testing how long such relationships last and whether they change as individuals age. Knowledge about social relationships in animal species that exhibit fission-fusion dynamics can enhance our understanding of the evolution of close social bonds in humans, who also have a fission-fusion social system. We analysed the social network of wild giraffes, Giraffa camelopardalis, in Etosha National Park, Namibia, from

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A comparison of the bone density and morphology of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) and buffalo (Syncerus caffer) skeletons

Unique features of giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis anatomy are its long neck and slender long limbs. Its neck vertebrae should be light and have low density to make it manoeuvrable while the limb bones should have high density to provide the strength to support the giraffe’s mass. Giraffes also have a very high vertical growth rate, a diet with a high Ca:P ratio, and a skeleton that constitutes a high proportion of its body mass. To investigate whether the giraffe skeleton

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Movements and group structure of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

Movements and group structure of giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis were studied in Lake Manyara National Park, northern Tanzania. The giraffe population in Manyara had increased from 60 to 85 individuals between the early 1980s and 1991. This increase may have been the result of an increase in browse availability as a result of a dramatic decline in elephant numbers, and bush encroachment following a series of anthrax epidemics that killed impala. Giraffe densities in Manyara are high compared to other areas

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Redescription of Monodontella giraffae Yorke et Maplestone, 1926 (Nematoda, Ancylostomatidae) from a giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis, from Zoo in China, with a discussion on the taxonomic status of Monodontella

Monodontella giraffae Yorke et Maplestone, 1926 was collected from the biliary duct of liver of a dead giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis (Linnaeus) from the Tianjin Zoo, Tianjin, China. A redescription of this species was made using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The lateral alae and the detailed structures of the spicules and genital cone were observed for the first time by SEM. The taxonomic status of the genus is discussed.

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Seasonal movements of giraffes in Niger

The last population of giraffes in west Africa lives in Niger in an unprotected Sahelian region inhabited by farmers and herders. The spatial behaviour of each individual of the population (n = 63) was studied by direct observation during 15 mo. Two-thirds of the population were resident in the tiger bush in the rainy season and in the nearby area of Harikanassou, a sandy agricultural region, in the dry season. Rainy season and dry season home ranges were mutually exclusive

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Herd composition, kinship and fission–fusion social dynamics among wild giraffe

A variety of social systems have evolved as a consequence of competition and cooperation among individuals. Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis sp.) societies are an anomaly because the dearth of long-term data has produced two polar perspectives: a loose amalgamation of non-bonded individuals that sometimes coalesce into a herd and a structured social system with a fission–fusion process modifying herd composition within a community. We analysed 34 years of data collected from a population of Thornicroft’s giraffe (G. c. thornicrofti, Lydekker 1911)

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Spotlight on the Masai Giraffe

Thousands of years ago, the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)–whose exotic appearance led the ancients to speculate it was an unnatural cross between a camel and a leopard–was common throughout all of Africa, Southern Europe, and India, but later became restricted to Africa. As recently as 800 years ago, giraffe disappeared from North Africa as a result of creeping desertification and loss of woodlands. The ranges of giraffe populations have contracted even further during the past half-century due to agricultural land conversion,

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