Iconic animals such as giraffes can be flagship species for conservation because of their charisma and popularity among the public. A new study explored the various threats to giraffe populations, and how specific human actions can mediate those threats so that giraffes and people can thrive together in African savannas. The giraffe is an icon … Read more
Ossicones are columnar or conical skin-covered bone structures on the heads of giraffe and okapi (Fig 1). Giraffe ossicones consist of a bone core covered with skin and attached to the skull with connective tissue. The bone, skin, and connective tissue of ossicones are all living growing tissues with blood vessels and nerves. All male … Read more
Female Masai giraffes live in distinct social communities of up to 90 other friends, and although areas used by these ‘girl gangs’ often overlap, they have very different rates of reproduction and calf survival. This means the girl gang social units may be important to giraffe evolution. These findings were published this week in the … Read more
Adult female giraffes who spend time in larger groups with other familiar females live longer than less sociable individuals. The effects of sociability on survival outweigh other factors such as environment or human presence, a study of giraffes in Tanzania conducted by the University of Zurich and Penn State has shown. An iconic but endangered … Read more
ARUSHA, Tanzania–Masai giraffes are the world’s tallest herbivores and beloved by people around the globe, but were recently classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). New research published in Oecologia showed how food, predators, and people all influence giraffe social behavior. In particular, the international team of researchers … Read more
ARUSHA, Tanzania, 22 February 2019 – Giraffes are huge browsing animals that live in African savanna ecosystems where they must find everything they need to survive and reproduce in landscapes increasingly impacted by human activities. People are converting natural savannas to towns and farms, and cutting trees for fuelwood and charcoal industries, all of which … Read more