Behavioral development in okapis and giraffes

Abstract

Observations on the behavioral development of two okapi calves and one giraffe calf were made at Brookfield Zoo. The following behaviors were monitored for 4 to 6 mo after birth: nursing duration and nursing attempts, mother-infant distance, bunting the mother's udder, lying, moving, maternal grooming, mother and infant autogrooming, object licking, tail chewing, and contact by others in the herd. Behaviors in both species showed oscillating patterns with high levels of motherinfant contact behaviors at 3-4 wk, 9-11 wk, and 14-15 wk in okapis. Giraffe infants showed similar oscillations with high periods of contact about 2-5 wk later than those in okapis. Other behaviors oscillated in concert with these, with specific correlations occurring between nursing behaviors and grooming behaviors.A main difference between okapi and giraffe development centered around maternal motivation during the high contact (regressive) periods. In okapis, after 10-12 wk there was a low rate of nursing success, whereas in giraffes the percentage of success in nursing rose with later behavioral oscillations. The regressive periods became conflict periods in okapis, whereas in the giraffe, the mother initiated the periods. This difference was in accordance with the unique strategy of infant rearing in wild giraffes in which there is an extended "hider" period when older calves are left together in shaded areas with an adult sentry. Field studies also indicated probable oscillations of mother-infant contact and a prolonged period of the mother initiating contact with her calf.

Daytime mother–calf relationships in reticulated giraffes (Giraffa cameloparadalis reticulate) at the Kyoto City Zoo

“…These findings are largely in accordance with quantitative data based on cross-sectional observations in wild giraffe mothers and calves [Pratt and Anderson, 1979]. Horwich et al [1983] observed a giraffe mother and her calf during the first 24 weeks at a zoo and reported that the frequency of the calf's unsuccessful suckling attempts was higher than that of successful attempts throughout the entire period except for the first week. Greene et al [2006] also reported that captive calves were within one body length of their mothers for 29% of the time during the first 3 weeks.…”

Giraffe social preferences are context dependent

“…In the area with no lions or tourists (SC), the giraffe social affiliation networks were more assorted by sex and age and were denser when individuals were foraging; in the area where lions and high volumes of tourist traffic were present (LNNP), the networks were more assorted by gregariousness and were denser when travelling. However, giraffe females congregate when they have calves and when they engage in alloparental care (Dagg & Foster, 1976;Gloneková, Brandlová, & Pluháček, 2016;Horwich, Kitchen, Wangel, & Ruthe, 1983;Langman, 1977;Leuthold, 1979;Leuthold & Leuthold, 1978;Pratt & Anderson, 1979, 1985, and so the higher proportion of juveniles in the population under lower disturbance may have contributed to stronger affiliations between females with calves. Under higher levels of disturbance there may be advantages of being socially closer, such as travelling with preferred companions, so whether the patterns we found represent passive or active assortments in giraffes remains an open question.…”

Social attachment in giraffe: Response to social separation

“…In fact, mothers were observed more than 2 km from their calves for as long as 2 days with no apparent behavioral indications of stress. However, more recent data from both wild and captive environments suggest that not only is the mother-calf relationship stronger than previously observed [Kok, 1982;Horwich et al, 1983], but so is the relationship between adult animals, particularly female giraffe. Pratt and Anderson [1982] reported that individual giraffe were observed in the presence of the same one to four individuals in 70% of their sightings.…”