Tall Tales – Getting a gander at a giraffe
Taronga Zoo’s Anne Fawcett explains how zookeepers use operant conditioning to train giraffe so that routine health checks can be performed without the use of sedation.
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Taronga Zoo’s Anne Fawcett explains how zookeepers use operant conditioning to train giraffe so that routine health checks can be performed without the use of sedation.
In the wild it is difficult to decide with certainty which giraffe calf belongs to which mother and impossible to determine the calf’s father. It is only in zoos that an offspring’s parents are known so that problems of heredity can be studied. Giraffe make a particularly interesting field of study in that individual variations are sometimes traits that have hitherto been thought to differentiate an entire race. In particular horn growth, spotting and colouration have been suggested as inherited
Objective: To describe the chemical immobilisation of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) for short procedures at Taronga Zoo. Design: A clinical report. Animals: Five giraffe. Procedure: The weight of each animal was determined and pre-immobilisation fasting, careful preparation of the site, and planning were carried out prior to each procedure. Etorphine and acetylpromazine were used as the sole immobilising agents. During immobilisation, elevation of the head and constant monitoring of the heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature were employed; blood pressure and
For six months various species of animal were observed in the morning at the Taronga Zoo, Sydney and data was collected on the animal’s temperature preferences.
The behavior of the members of the herd of 18 giraffes at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, was studied for 5 months. The individuals were tolerant of each other, seldom fighting, not even over a receptive female. Sexually active males were the most active in initiating encounters. Calves showed little interest in the adult members of the herd. The 24-year-old male Ml, formerly the dominant male, seldom interacted with the other animals. Nosing and licking were the most common types