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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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The Giraffe Biology, Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour (Book)

In one form or another, giraffes have been around for a very long time. And so has Homo sapiens. The interaction between giraffes and humans starts way back in prehistory, and rock art (paintings and engravings) is found all over Africa from Morocco, Algeria and Libya in the north, through Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania in the east, to Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique in the south (Le Quellec 1993, 2004; Muzzolini 1995). Wherever, in fact, there has been savannah.

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Convergence in the macroscopic anatomy of the reticulum in wild ruminant species of different feeding types and a new resulting hypothesis on reticular function

The reticulum is the second part of the ruminant forestomach, located between the rumen and the omasum and characterized by honeycomb-like internal mucosa. With its fluid contents, it plays a decisive role in particle separation. Differences among species have been linked to their feeding style. We investigated whether reticulum size (absolute and in relation to rumen size) and size of the crests that form the mucosal honeycomb pattern differ among over 60 ruminant species of various body sizes and feeding

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The giraffe’s long neck : From evolutionary fable to whole organism

A LONE GIRAFFE BULL STOOD at the edge of the scrubby bush forest that opened into a grassland. It was August, the beginning of spring, but also the middle of the dry season in the southern African savannah. The grasses and forbs were yellowed and brittle. Many trees and bushes had no leaves, though some still bore fruit, and others were just beginning to flower. The giraffe didn’t seem bothered by our presence, although we were off the main tourist track.

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Comparison of the fatty acid component in structural lipids from dolphins, zebra and giraffe: possible evolutionary implications

Essential fatty acid compositional data on the structural lipids of mammals which predominantly eat n‐3 fatty acids suggests preferential incorporation of n‐6 essential fatty acids. The structural lipids of liver, muscle and brain of five species of dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, Stenella allenuata, Steno bredanesis, Delphinus delphis and Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), obtained from the wild, contained substantial amounts of arachidonic acid and other n‐6 long chain derivatives of linoleic acid. The n‐6 to n‐3 ratio was approximately 1:1. Data for two species of leaf‐eating land

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Giraffe genome sequence reveals clues to its unique morphology and physiology

The origins of giraffe’s imposing stature and associated cardiovascular adaptations are unknown. Okapi, which lacks these unique features, is giraffe’s closest relative and provides a useful comparison, to identify genetic variation underlying giraffe’s long neck and cardiovascular system. The genomes of giraffe and okapi were sequenced, and through comparative analyses genes and pathways were identified that exhibit unique genetic changes and likely contribute to giraffe’s unique features. Some of these genes are in the HOX, NOTCH and FGF signalling pathways,

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Fiber type composition of the plantarflexors of giraffes (giraffa camelopardalis) at different postnatal stages of development

A sample of fibers from deep (close to the bone) and superficial (away from the bone) regions of the plantaris (PLT) and medial (MG) and lateral (LG) gastrocnemius muscles of a neonatal, a 17-day-old and an adult giraffe were typed qualitatively as dark or light based on alkaline preincubation myosin ATPase staining properties and then sized. Each muscle at all ages showed a higher percentage and a larger cross-sectional area (CSA) of light ATPase fibers in the deep than the

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The structural organization of the carotid arterial system of the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

Carotid arteries in the giraffe were removed and their structural organization studied with light microscopy. It has been shown that the carotid artery has a largely muscular structure in the adult except for the carotid baroreceptor area located at the carotid‐occipital junction. The fetus carotid has an elastic structure in its caudal portion and a musculo‐elastic structure in its cranial portion. It is proposed here that the muscular structure of the carotid arterial system constitutes part of the structural mechanism

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Blood pressure and flow rate in the giraffe jugular vein

Experimental measurements in the jugular veins of upright giraffes have shown that the internal pressure is somewhat above atmospheric and increases with height above the heart. A simple model of steady viscous flow in an inverted U-tube shows that these observations are inconsistent with a model in which the blood vessels in the head and neck are effectively rigid and the system resembles a siphon. Instead, the observations indicate that the veins are collapsed and have a high resistance to

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