Reproductive failure in female Thornicroft’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis thornicrofti) in Zambia
Reproductive suppression is common among mammals residing in cooperative social systems and is characterized by the cessation of ovulation in subordinate females until their social environment releases them from a temporary freeze on ovulating (e.g., dwarf mongoose, Helogale parvula (Creel, Creel, Wildt, & Monfort, 1992); African wild dogs, Lycaon pictus (Creel, Creel, Mills, & Monfort, 1997); wolves, Canus lupus (Packard, Seal, Mech, & Plotka, 1985); Damaraland mole rats, Cryptomys damarensis (Bennett, 1994); common marmosets, Callthrix jacchus (Barrett, Abbott, & George,