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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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Fibre Size Frequency In The Recurrent Laryngeal Nerves Of Man And Giraffe

An Optomax Image Analyser has been used to carry out fibre-size analyses in six pairs of human recurrent laryngeal nerve and two pairs of recurrent nerves from adult giraffes. In every case the left recurrent laryngeal nerve was found to contain a greater number of large, fast-conducting fibres. Since this nerve is longer than the right, these findings may explain the simultaneous arrival of motor impulses to both sides of the laryngeal musculature.

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Phenotypic matching by spot pattern potentially mediates female giraffe social associations

Animal color pattern is a phenotypic trait that may mediate assortative mixing (also known as homophily), whereby similar looking individuals have stronger social associations. Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) coat spot patterns show high variation and some spot traits appear to be heritable. Giraffes also have high visual acuity, which may facilitate intraspecific communication and recognition based on spot patterns. Giraffe groupings are dynamic, merging and splitting throughout the day, but females form long-term associations. We predicted that adult female

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Evaluation de la capacité de charge pour les girafes dans la réserve de biosphère de Gadabédji, Niger

Dans le cadre de la conservation de la girafe (Giraffa cameleopardalis perralta L.), huit individus provenant de Kouré ont été réintroduites dans la réserve de biosphère de Gadabédji. Trois ans après cette introduction, il s’avère important d’approfondir les connaissances sur l’écologie de l’espèce. C’est dans ce sens que la présente étude a été initiée dans le but de déterminer la capacité de charge de la réserve de biosphère de Gadabéji (RBG). En effet, les biomasses foliaires totales et accessibles de

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Estimating Giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis) Population Size And Survival Rates In South Luangwa Valley, Zambia

Giraffe populations across their range have declined significantly over the past 40 years. Recent studies of these declines noted that conservation efforts often lack basic population estimates and descriptions of demographic parameters such as sex- and age-specific survival rates. I addressed those research needs for a geographically-isolated population of giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) in South Luangwa Valley, Zambia. During 2016 to 2018, collaborators opportunistically photographed giraffes throughout South Luangwa National Park and adjacent Lupande and Lumimba Game Management Areas. Given that

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Skin Papillomas in an Impala (Aepyceros melampus) and a Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

Viral particles, typical of the papovavirus family, were demonstrated by electronmicroscopy in small papillomas found on the feet of an impala (Aepyceros melampus) and on the face of a giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in Kenya. Histologically the tissues proved to be typical papillomas. The viral particles measured 38 nm and 40 nm in diameter in all tissue sections from the impala and giraffe respectively.

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Infrared Thermography in Zoo and Wild Animals

Infrared (IR) thermography is a noninvasive diagnostic screening tool that does not require handling or restraint of an animal. Physiologic or pathologic processes involving changes in surface temperature may be evaluated using this technique. This modern method provides real-time, instantaneous visual images with measurements of surface temperatures over a greater distance. The first medical application of “thermography” was by Hippocrates (ca. 460-375 BC), who used thin layers of mud for his temperature measurements, similar to modern thermography. An area of

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Feeding ecology and chewing mechanics in hoofed mammals: 3D tribology of enamel wear

Large herbivorous mammals have evolved chewing systems capable of processing a large variety of structurally diverse foods. Three-dimensional (3D) surface texture parameters are applied to investigate wear mechanisms related to tooth morphology, food source, and chewing dynamics. We tested 46 industrial 3D surface texture parameters for their capability to robustly indicate specific biomechanics in two grazing (Blue Wildebeest and Grevy’s Zebra) and two browsing (Giraffe and Black Rhinoceros) ungulate mammals. These species inhabit sub-Saharan Africa and represent foregut and hindgut

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Faunal Remains From Shaqadud

The present study deals with the faunal material collected by members of the Joint University of Khartoum/Southern Methodist University Butana Archaeological Project over two field seasons (Marks et al. 1982, 1983). These sites are located at the southern end of an irregular, elongate sandstone outcrop, approximately 50 km. into the Butana at latitude 16° 15′, 13 km. east of Meroitic Naga. A more detailed description and a map of the Jebel Shaqadud area can be found elsewhere in this volume.

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Modélisation de la distribution spatiale de la girafe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta, Linnaeus 1758) de l’Afrique de l’Ouest pour sa conservation au Niger

La conservation de la girafe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta, Linnaeus 1758), nécessite la connaissance de son aire de répartition potentielle et des facteurs environnementaux conditionnant cette répartition. Cette étude visait à identifier les facteurs écologiques régissant la répartition géographique de la girafe et la cartographie de son aire de distribution sous les conditions climatiques actuelles pour une meilleure planification de sa gestion durable. La modélisation a été utilisée pour cartographier l’habitat de la girafe suivant les modèles climatiques (CCMA et CSIRO),

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