Introduction: Movement studies have been conducted on various giraffe subspecies across different ecological and management environments in Africa. However, prior to recent advancements in technology, studies were limited to identification methods relying on chance encounters of individuals (e.g. Foster, 1966; Berry, 1978; le Pendu & Ciofolo, 1999) and VHF radio-tracking (e.g. Langman, 1973; Dagg & Foster, 1982), which can underestimate movements (Fennessy, 2009). Now, GPS satellite units enable remote monitoring of movements with the increased ability to collect more accurate and copious data sets (e.g. Fennessy, 2004; Suraud, 2011). This study used GPS satellite collar technology to determine home ranges, seasonal ranges and daily movements of giraffe (G. c. giraffa) (Bock et al., 2014) in northern Botswana.
Key Words: Giraffe, subspecies, movement, radio-tracking, GPS satellite, home range, Botswana
Authors: Kylie N. McQualter, Michael J. Chase, Julian T. Fennessy, Steven R. McLeod and Keith E. A. Leggett
Journal: African Journal of Ecology