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Evaluating the effects of giraffe skin disease and wire snare wounds on the gaits of free‑ranging Nubian giraffe

Giraffe skin disease (GSD), a condition that results in superficial lesions in certain giraffe (Girafa spp.) populations, has emerged as a potential conservation threat. Preliminary findings suggested that individuals with GSD lesions move with greater difficulty which may in turn reduce their foraging efficiency or make them more vulnerable to predation. A current known threat to some giraffe populations is their mortality associated with entrapment in wire snares, and the morbidity and potential locomotor deficiencies associated with wounds acquired from

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Giraffetistics: biodata of endangered translocated Rothschild’s giraffe during Operation Twiga in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, 2016

The appearance and anatomy of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) have always been a source of human intrigue, yet relatively little is known about the size of different parts of a giraffe’s body and whether taxons differ in size. Some studies have been conducted to measure the average height of some wild giraffe (sub)species (du Toit and Owen-Smith, 1989), limb length (Christiansen, 2002), and tail length (Siegfreid, 1990). As genetic and taxonomic studies have shown, there are different (sub)species of giraffe (Seymour

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Foot shape and radiographs of free-ranging Nubian giraffe in Uganda

Foot health in zoo giraffe has been a topic of recent research, although little is known about the foot health of free-ranging giraffe. This study describes the foot shape and radiographic pathological changes in 27 young adult Nubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) from a translocation in Uganda (August 2017). Giraffe feet were observed to have a concave sole, the hoof wall was longest by the toe tip, and the weight-bearing surface of the foot was primarily along the periphery of

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Rothschild’s Refuge

If there are giraffes in the vicinity, there’s a good chance you’ll see them. But that doesn’t mean there are plenty of them around. Numbers have plummeted in recent years, and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation wants to know why. Andy Tutchings and his colleagues recently investigated the status of Rothschild’s giraffe in Uganda’s largest national park.

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Skeletal dysplasia-like syndromes in wild giraffe

Objective: Skeletal dysplasias, cartilaginous or skeletal disorders that sometimes result in abnormal bone development, are seldom reported in free-ranging wild animals. Here, we use photogrammetry and comparative morphometric analyses to describe cases of abnormal appendicular skeletal proportions of free-ranging giraffe in two geographically distinct taxa: a Nubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda and an Angolan giraffe (Giraffa giraffa angolensis) on a private farm in central Namibia. Results: These giraffe exhibited extremely shortened radius and metacarpal

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The landscape configuration and lethality of snare poaching of sympatric guilds of large carnivores and ungulates

Poaching of wildlife presents one of the biggest conservation challenges in the 21st century. Snaring is one of the primary means of capturing target animals. To prioritise interventions intending to reduce snaring, we describe an approach for quantifying the configuration and lethality of snares. We conducted transect surveys in Murchison Falls National Park. All the snares that we recovered were made of wire with the majority (81.0%, n = 546 of 674) deriving from vehicle tire wire. The density of

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Genetic architecture detected by microsatellite screening of the Rothschild’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) populations sampled in two Kenyan national parks and an evaluation of the recent decline in the Lake Nakuru National Park population

There are six recognized populations of Rothschild’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) protected in Uganda and Kenya. Four populations in Kenya are at Lake Nakuru National Park, Ruma National Park, Giraffe Manor, and Yoder Flower Farm. Two populations in Uganda are at Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park. Both the Ruma National Park and Lake Nakuru National Park herd appears to be in good genetic health with respect to the likelihood of inbreeding or inbreeding depression. A question

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Rothschild’s giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi (Linnaeus, 1758) in East Africa: A review of population trends, taxonomy and conservation status

Giraffe populations have suffered a 40% decline in the past thirty years, making them a new priority for conservation and there are considerable uncertainty and disagreement over the taxonomic classification of giraffes. Consequently, there has never been a more critical time to fully understand the global population size and distribution of all giraffe subspecies. The Rothschild’s giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi (Linnaeus, 1758) is arguably one of the most imperilled giraffe subspecies. Once widespread across southern Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, the

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Cameras replace human observers in multi-species aerial counts in Murchison Falls, Uganda

Wildlife counts in Africa and elsewhere are often implemented using light aircraft with ‘rear-seat-observer’ (RSO) counting crews. Previous research has indicated that RSOs often fail to detect animals, and that population estimates are therefore biased. We conducted aerial wildlife surveys in Murchison Falls Protected Area, Uganda, in which we replaced RSOs with high-definition ‘oblique camera count’ (OCC) systems. The survey area comprises forests, woodlands and grasslands. Four counts were conducted in 2015–2016 using a systematic-reconnaissance-flight (SRF) strip-transect design. Camera inclination

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Genetic Architecture Detected by Microsatellite Screening of the Rothschild’s Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) Population in Murchison Falls National Park

There are six recognized populations of Rothschild’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) protected in Uganda and Kenya. Two populations in Uganda are at Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park. Four populations in Kenya are at Lake Nakuru National Park, Ruma National Park, Giraffe Manor, and Yoder Flower Farm. The Kidepo Valley population in northern Uganda has experienced a rapid decline in numbers over the past years falling to only two original individuals. Reintroduction efforts have been initiated in

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