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Fire history and management as determinant of patch selection by foraging herbivores in western Serengeti, Tanzania

Although the use of fire as a management tool has increased during the past decades in East African savannas, there is insufficient knowledge about herbivores’ utilization of areas with different fire history. We therefore examined large mammal herbivores’ preference for patches that differed in fire history to test whether herbivores would non-randomly select patches according to availability. Our study area was the East African Serengeti ecosystem. Animals were recorded along transects at monthly intervals from May 2001 to April 2006,

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Giraffe Cow-Calf Relationships and Social Development of the Calf in the Serengeti

Activity patterns of giraffe calves and calf-mother distances have been studied as functions of age and sex of the calf in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Particular attention was paid to the nature of the cow-calf bond, suckling behavior, the social development of the calf, relationships between calves and between mother-calf pairs in calf groups, and the anti-predator behavior of mother and calf.

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Giraffe Skin Disease (GSD): Epidemiology of an Emerging Disease

Diseases can greatly impact wildlife populations by causing temporary or permanent decreases in abundance.  Pathogens also can interact with other factors such as habitat loss, climate change, and overexploitation to cause local extinctions. The iconic Maasai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) is the national animal of the United Republic of Tanzania. The range of giraffe once covered most of Africa, but is presently discontinuous and much reduced as a result of the rinderpest pandemic, poaching, human settlement, deforestation, and expansion of

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Giraffe mothers in East Africa linger for days near the remains of their dead calves

Repeated investigation of dead young or carrying of corpses has been observed in several mammalian taxa, notably primates [e.g. yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus): Altmann, 1980; chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Goodall, 1986; Matsuzawa, 1997; Biro et al., 2010; ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta): Nakamichi, Koyama & Jolly, 1996; Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti): Li et al., 2012), dolphins (Tursiops spp.) (Tayler & Saayman, 1972; Harzen & Dos Santos, 1992) and elephants (Loxodonta africana) (Moss, 1976; Poole, 1996), and was recently also described in

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Does illegal hunting skew Serengeti wildlife sex ratios?

In this article we show that the population of Serengeti Masai giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi is extremely female biased, particularly among newborns. Our results suggest that this might be a response to heavy illegal hunting and the continuous disturbance such activities cause on giraffes, as sex ratios were more female skewed in all age groups in areas with high risk of illegal hunting. Giraffes were also more vigilant and fled at longer distances in such areas. Such female skewed sex ratios have

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Investigation report on giraffe skin disease of Ruaha National Park, Southern Highlands of Tanzania

Giraffe Skin Disease (GSD) is a newly observed condition mainly affecting adult and sub-adult giraffes in Ruaha National Park (RNP). For the first time, the disease was observed at Lunda, northeastern part of RNP in November 2000 but the disease was thought to have existed for some time. A seasonal variation in the prevalence has also been observed with more animals being affected during the rainy season compared to those affected in the dry season. This study was undertaken with

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Did the elephant and giraffe mediate change in the prevalence of palatable species in an East African Acacia woodland?

We report on a 2009 survey of Acacia woodlands in the Seronera area of central Serengeti, Tanzania, and compare the results to previous surveys from the 1970s–1980s. We document a substantial change in woodland structure and composition. From 1978 to 2009, woody plant density (mean ± SD) declined from 255 ± 35 trees ha−1 to 147 ± 14 trees ha−1. Canopy cover declined from 15.1 ± 1.9% to 5.7 ± 0.6%. Canopy volume declined from 1810 ± 207 m3 ha−1 to 1410 ± 121 m3 ha−1.

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Demography of giraffe in the fragmented Tarangire Ecosystem

Documenting whether variation in demographic parameters such as births, deaths, and movement exists, and how temporal and spatial environmental variability influences demography, is critical to understanding and affecting changes in animal populations. Natural populations often exhibit variation in demographic parameters, and while the examination of temporal variation has long been a central theme in population ecology, spatial variation among or within populations of the same species has received much less attention. Although the vast majority of the world’s ungulate species

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People, Wildlife and Livestock in the Mara Ecosystem: the Mara Count 2002

The great savannas of eastern Africa — cradle of humankind, home to traditional nomadic pastoralists, and last refuge of some of the most spectacular wildlife populations on earth — are in trouble.  Notwithstanding 20 years of highly committed wildlife conservation, much of the wildlife in several regions of Kenya and Uganda (and to a lesser extent, Tanzania) has disappeared in just the last 20 years.  The Mara part of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is of particular concern because nearly 70% of

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The feeding ecology of a selective browser, the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi)

A herbivore can manipulate certain factors of its feeding behavior in order to achieve the metabolic requirements for reproduction. These factors include choice of habitat in which to feed, the selection criteria for choosing food items, and the time allocated to feeding or devoted to other energy-consuming activities. The manipulation of these behavioural factors by giraffe in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania is analysed in relation to the seasonal changes in the quantity and quality of the food resource. The

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