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Giraffe Plasma Bank: Protocol 2018

The goal is to reduce neonate mortalities in giraffe under human care by making fresh frozen plasma more widely available to calves with failure of passive transfer. Plasma collection via operant conditioning is ideal due to no anaesthetic agents within the plasma being collected, and highlights the importance of trained blood collection behaviors. This document provides a standard protocol for blood collection in giraffe.

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Effects of resource limitation on habitat usage by the browser guild in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa

Resource depletion and association increases in interspecific competition are likely to influence differential habitat usage amongst a guild. We tested some prominent theoretical concepts using observed differenced in seasonal habitat use amongst the savannah browser guild (elephant, giraffe, impala, kudu and nyala) in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa. Herbivore locations (n= 3108) were recorded over 2 y using repeated road transects and, for elephant, GPS collars (187254 downloads). Densities were calculated using a novel GIS approach designed to be a cost-effective

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Range movements of giraffe in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia

The range movements of a small population of giraffe in the Luangwa Valley in eastern Zambia were studied over a period of 4.5 years. The majority of the adults of both sexes were found to move over distances in excess of 40 km though only two, both males, moved farther than 50 km. The average home range size was 82 km^2 for males and 68 km^2 for females respectively though these figures are regarded as conservative. Twelve crossings of the

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Giraffe cow reaction to the death of her newborn calf

Observations in their natural habitat of animals’ reactions to recently deceased conspecifics are rare. Documenting a diversity of mammalian responses is essential to augment our understanding of potential evolutionary foundations of both mental states and social bonds. Individuals that previously had strong social ties to dead conspecifics might be expected to display different reactions than those who did not, and the degree of investigation of carcasses, or carrying of carcasses, has led some to infer that chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes (Anderson,

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Giraffe feeding on Acacia flowers: predation or pollination?

Consumption of flowers by the following four browsing ruminant species was monitored for two years in a southern African savannah: giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis Linnaeus), kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros Pallas), impala (Aepyceros melampus Lichtenstein) and steenbok (Raphicerus campestris Thunberg). Flowers of Acacia nigrescens Oliver are an important food resource to giraffe in the late dry season. This is not necessarily deleterious to the reproductive potential of the plant however, as most or all African Acacia species bear high proportions of sterile flowers.

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Spinal cord injury during recovery from anaesthesia in a giraffe

ANAESTHESIA of giraffes carries particular risks of morbidity and mortality as a result of the physical characteristics of a large, longlegged, long-necked animal with a heavy head; death is reported in approximately one in 10 cases (Benbow and Lyon 2001, Bush and others 2002, Flach and others 2002). Mortality may relate to physical damage or occasionally regurgitation and aspiration (Citino and Bush 2007). This short communication describes an accident during recovery of a giraffe from an otherwise straightforward anaesthetic.

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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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Behavioral sleep in the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in a zoological garden

Behavioral sleep was assessed for 152 nights in 5 adult, 2 immature, and 1 juvenile giraffes at a zoological garden, using continuous time-lapse video recording. Sleep occurred while the giraffes were standing (SS) and in recumbency (RS). Paradoxical sleep (PS) was recognized by the peculiar positioning of the head on the croup and by phasic events. The 24-h sleep profile had a main bimodal nocturnal sleep period between 20.00 and 07.00 hours, with a trough between 02.00 and 04.00 hours,

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The past and present distribution of some African ungulates

Synopsis: A comparison has been made between the recent densities and distributions of African mammals of the genera: Equus, Ceratotherium, Diceros, Hippopotamus, Choeropsis, Hyemoschus, Giraffa, Okapia, Damaliscus, Alcelaphus, Connochaetes, Taurotragus, Tragelaphus, Boocercus, Strepsiceros, Limnotragus, Syncerus, with those at the turn of the present century. Information has been obtained from literature, by personal contact, and in a tour of East Central and South Africa. This monograph is divided into fifteen parts, each containing the known distribution and density of a family

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