The feeding biology and potential impact of introduced giraffe (giraffa camelopardalis) in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa
Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) are extralimital (non-native) to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa yet they have and continue to be introduced to the region. Financial gain has arguably been the driving force behind these introductions as foreign tourists associate giraffe with Africa and the African wildlife experience. This raises a number of ethical, ecological and […]
The social organization of giraffes in Niger
The social organization of the last population of giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) in West Africa was studied between October 1996 and December 1997. Population size increased from 51 to 63 individuals during the study period. Groups were larger during the rainy season (mean group size 9.4) than during the dry season (mean group size 6; U=4131; […]
Food preferences of giraffe in Transvaal Lowveld Mopane Woodland
The trees and shrubs browsed by giraffe in Transvaal Lowveld Mopane Woodland were recorded by direct observation. A preference rating for the different plant species was calculated by correlating these data with the percentage frequency occurrence of the plants in the field. Giraffe were found to clearly prefer some species and avoid others. The reason […]
Seed dispersal of Acacia erioloba by African bush elephants in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Approximately two-thirds (64%) of all dry season samples of elephant dung analysed during a 3-year study in the Main Camp subregion of Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, contained seed and/or pod materials from Acacia erioloba. Most seeds were recovered intact and actively germinating seeds were not uncommon. Very little pod mass relative to seed mass was […]
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 […]
Looking Up
An overview of giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis peralta, in Niger’s unprotected regions.
The giraffe symbol of the African wilderness
An article overviewing giraffe evolution, ecology, reproduction, and population threats. Also discussed briefly the Veterinary Red Line fence and impacts on population movements.
Stability in a multi-species assemblage of large herbivores in East Africa
Animal census data from Lake Manyara National Park in northern Tanzania are presented. The data refer to large mammalian herbivores, that is individually heavier than twenty kg, of which the numbers were counted in nine different years between 1959 and 1984. The total biomass of these herbivores was comprised mainly of African buffalo and African […]
Community-level interactions between ungulate browsers and woody plants in an African savanna dominated by palatable-spinescent Acacia trees
We studied the composition of a savanna woody plant community across a natural herbivory gradient maintained by both browsing and grazing ungulates in an arid part of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. We focused on (1) short-term browsing effects on reproductive and morphological traits of a dominant-palatable woody species, Acacia nigrescens, Miller, (2) the […]
Habitat availability, hunting or poaching: what affects distribution and density of large mammals in western Tanzanian woodlands?
Game reserves (GR) in Tanzania have been found to support similar or lower densities of large mammals compared with National parks (NP). But as these areas usually differ considerably not only in regard to management but also to environmental factors, we assessed the relative importance of vegetation cover, species-specific habitat preferences and legal (trophy hunting) […]