Giraffe - GCF Resource Library

Assessment of the feasibility to reintroduce Angolan giraffe (Giraffa giraffa angolensis) into Iona National Park, Angola focusing on habitat and social suitability

Giraffe (Giraffa spp.) numbers and distribution have shown dramatic decline (>30%) over the past 30 years. A century ago, the population size in the wild was estimated at >1 million individuals. At present, there are approximately 117, 000 individuals remaining, of which 50% are throughout southern Africa. This rapid decline is mainly thought to be due to habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, and sporadic poaching and civil unrest ravaging many African countries. As a result of this decline, giraffe was

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A literature review of horn and horn-like structures in vertebrates to correlate placement to function, behavior, and niche.

In this paper, the true horns of bovids are compared to the many horn-like structures found throughout the animal kingdom. Literary sources were reviewed for a variety of horn-like structures. The review was limited to extinct and extant terrestrial vertebrates. 3D models of these organisms’ skulls and “horns” were created or acquired and 3D printed at the same scale to illustrate their differences and similarities and to analysis of their comparative size easier between large and small genera.

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Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing

Suckling of a non-filial calf, or allosuckling, is an extreme case of allomaternal care in mammals. There have been many hypotheses postulated in an attempt to explain this behaviour; however, the supporting evidence differs, together with the conclusions drawn from the investigated variables. Previously, suckling bout rejection was analysed, and the milk theft and reciprocity hypotheses were both determined as the most appropriate explanation of allosuckling in giraffe. In this study, seven hypotheses were tested using different behavioural parameters, namely

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A literature review of horn and horn-like structures in vertebrates to correlate placement to function, behavior, and niche.

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Night census and infrared technology monitoring of a black rhinoceros’ population and species competition monitoring to inform management action in Tsavo, Kenya

We present the results of the 2019 night census of the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) population in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya. A dedicated rhino sanctuary was established in 1986 as part of efforts by the Kenyan government to safeguard the remaining populations of the critically endangered black rhino, and now contains more than 13% of the national population. In response to the challenges involved in observing black rhinos in their natural habitat, population numbers in the sanctuary are monitored

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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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Imagining a ‘pleasant place’: a rock engraving site in the Trans-Gariep Nama Karoo, South Africa

The Keimoes Engraving Site 01 (KES01) north of Keimoes, Northern Cape Province, is a recently documented site with just over 50 recorded instances of rock markings. These comprise engravings of human footprints, animal motifs and smoothed and pecked areas on an outcrop. The KES01 engravings provide an opportunity to investigate the ‘problem of the animals’: the predominance of animal images and their frequent presentation as solitary figures portrayed in a standing posture. This phenomenon has been noted previously but not

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Whole-genome analysis of giraffe supports four distinct species

Species is the fundamental taxonomic unit in biology and its delimitation has implications for conservation. In giraffe (Giraffa spp.), multiple taxonomic classifications have been proposed since the early 1900s.1 However, one species with nine subspecies has been generally accepted,2 likely due to limited in-depth assessments, subspecies hybridizing in captivity,3,4 and anecdotal reports of hybrids in the wild.5 Giraffe taxonomy received new attention after population genetic studies using traditional genetic markers suggested at least four species.6,7 This view has been met

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Reproductive System of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

Two postmortem male and female reticulated giraffes were examined. The adult male giraffe showed sigmoid flexure of penis similar to most ungulates. Epididymis was well-developed and divided with head, body and tail parts. On the tip of penis, there was a urethral process. At the necropsy of a 20-month-old and nulliparous giraffe, ovaries, oviducts, two uterine horns with a septum and a cervix were distinctively shown. Understanding reproductive organs of giraffes would be beneficial to succeed in artificial breeding on

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Case Studies in Physiology: Ventilation and perfusion in a giraffe– does size matter?

The trachea in the giraffe is long but narrow, and dead space ventilation is considered to be of approximately the same size as in other mammals. Less is known about the matching between ventilation and lung blood flow. The lungs in the giraffe are large, up to 1 m high and 0.7 m wide, and this may cause considerable ventilation/perfusion (VA/Q) mismatch due to the influence of gravitational forces, which could lead to hypoxemia. We studied a young giraffe under

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