Giraffe - GCF Resource Library

The histology of the giraffe’s carotid, functionally considered

Through the courtesy of Dr Chalmers Mitchell and Dr Vevers, and the facilities kindly afforded by Dr Scott and Dr Beattie, one of us had recently the opportunity of examining the carotid artery of a young giraffe at the Zoological Gardens. The object in view was to find out what structural mechanism existed for overcoming hydrostatic pressure in blood vessels, and the neck vessels of the giraffe seemed most likely to give the answer. The intermittent output of the heart,

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A note on foetal growth and development of the giraffe Girafla camelopardalis girafla

The growth of the foetus of the southern giraffe is discussed. Gestation period is calculated as 457 days being the mean of 48 observations of other workers. Birthmass is taken as 102 kg from measurements on wild giraffe. This is almost twice as great as some published figures for captive giraffe. However, subspecies also differ. Foetal growth followed a typical “J” shaped curve when plotted from the mass of 24 foetuses. The increase in vertebral column length followed a straight

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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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Aspects of Female Giraffe Reproduction: Review and Update

Introduction Giraffes belong to Africa´s iconic mammals and are amongst the most popular zoo animals. 0However, few visitors realize that there are at least six genetically distinct (sub) species of giraffes, of which two are already classified endangered due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Each of these endangered giraffe populations count less than a thousand individuals in the wild. Therefore, the role of zoological facilities for the conservation of giraffes is increasingly important. For successful reproductive management of our captive

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Giraffe Cardiovascular Adaptations to Gravity

The physiological systems of animals have adapted to Earth’s gravity over the past hundreds of millions of years. In general, gravitational adaptations of the cardiovascular system are more pronounced in terrestrial specieswith greater height and thus greater gravity-dependent gradients of blood pressure from head to feet. For example, dinosaurs (1), tree-climbing snakes (2), giraffes (3), and other tall animals have evolved mechanisms to provide adequate blood flow and nutrition to their brains while restricting blood flow and tissue swelling in

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Determination of individual home range size and group composition of the main giraffe population at Entabeni Game Reserve

Large variations in giraffe home range size have been reported in previous studies, where individual home ranges usually overlap. The social structure of giraffe populations is complex and not much research has been done on their group size and group composition. To be able to identify the individual giraffe roaming the lower escarpment of Entabeni Game Reserve (EGR), Limpopo, South Africa an identification catalogue was initially created in February 2011. A total number of 45 giraffe were individually identified in

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Lameness Diagnosis and Management in Zoo Giraffe

Lameness is a common health problem of adult giraffe (Giraffa spp.) at many zoos. Up to 80% of giraffe immobilizations are done to address hoof overgrowth and limping, indicating that lameness is an important health problem for this species. Giraffe anesthesia can have a 10% mortality rate, and some giraffe have died during anesthesia for hoof work. Due to risks associated with anesthesia, some cases are not diagnosed or treated until relatively late in the disease process. When lameness is

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The Rothschild’s giraffe as a potential biological controller of invasive native Acacia species in Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda

Shrub and woody encroachment can have serious ecological impacts and is an increasingly common problem in many ecosystems, from the African savanna to the Arctic. Lake Mburo National Park in Uganda is experiencing severe woody encroachment of the native invasive Acacia species. In 2015, 15 Rothschild’s giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) were translocated to Lake Mburo as both a conservation effort to expand the range of the endangered giraffe subspecies and as part of a long-term project to control the encroachment

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Copper oxide wire particles used to control Haemonchus infections: efficacy in giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) at Busch Gardens Tampa and potential mechanism of action

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections affect production systems and exotic hoofstock in zoos, particularly giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). Anthelmintic resistance (AR) prevalence is increasing in production systems and zoos. To combat the AR that compounds GIN problems, alternative control methods are used. One such alternative is copper oxide wire particles (COWP), which control the abomasal nematode Haemonchus contortus. COWP was given to seven adult giraffe at Busch Gardens Tampa, at descending dosages: 25 g, 12.5 g, 6.3 g. Treatment administration time was

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Chemical composition and fermentation characteristics of feedstuffs for giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) in German zoos

The aim of the study was to evaluate the nutritive value of feedstuffs for giraffes in zoos. In total, 196 samples of six categories of forage (n = 111) and eight categories of non-forage feedstuffs (n = 85) were analysed for chemical composition and in vitro gas production (GP). Lucerne hay as main forage source showed a stable average quality (mean ± standard deviation: crude protein 179 ± 19 g · kg–1 dry matter (DM); metabolizable energy 8.9 ± 0.6 MJ · kg–1 DM)

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