Diet and seasonal dispersal of extralimital giraffe at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo, South Africa

Abstract

South African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) have been introduced as an extralimital species to private farms in the Little Karoo on the basis of economic sustainability, and the need to create a competitive tourism product. However, little is known about the medium- to long-term impacts and ecological sustainability of such introductions. The diet of a population of giraffe on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, near the town of Ladismith, was assessed via direct observations between January and October 2014, in order to determine their potential impact on the world’s most species-rich semi-desert, the Succulent Karoo. Unlike giraffe in their native range, the Sanbona population showed seasonal preference for browse species. Acacia karroo (sweet thorn) appears to be the preferred browse species during autumn and spring, with Schotia afra being the preferred species in winter, and no significant preference being shown in summer. Giraffe also appeared to seasonally move between catchments where tree species other than A. karroo occurs, especially during winter and spring when the tributaries of the Brak River, containing mixed Acacia with S. afra (karoo boer-bean) and Euclea undulata (small-leaved guarri), were visited with increasing frequency. These results largely confirm the importance of A. karroo as the main browse species in this environment but also suggest that other species may be important components of the diet of extralimital giraffe in the Little Karoo. On farms where A. karroo is dominant, supplementary feed may be needed when A. karroo browse is unavailable due to leaf drop.Conservation implications: Acacia karroo was the main browse species of extralimital G. c. giraffa at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, but it switched to S. afra during winter. This suggests that an assessment of alternative food species forms part of suitability assessments for the introduction of extralimital G. c. giraffa for areas similar to Sanbona.

Resources and Habitat Requirements for Giraffes’ (Giraffa camelopardalis) Diet Selection in the Northwestern Kalahari, South Africa

“…Seasonal variations in the diet of giraffes were seen in the findings of various previous studies [ 6 , 25 , 26 , 32 , 33 , 50 , 69 ].…”

Activitybudget and foraging patterns ofNubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) in Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

“…The inclusion of this species in the giraffe diet could be a pointer that the woody species that giraffe feed on in the park may be lacking important minerals and nutrients required for survival (Sbhatu & Abraha, 2020). Other invasive or alien species foraged by giraffe include Tamarix ramosissima and Atriplex nummularia in the Little Karoo, South Africa (Gordon et al., 2016), and Lantana camara in Nairobi National Park (Obari, 2009). Foraging on invasive species can indicate the potential positive impacts these species can have on the environment and wildlife species (Chapman, 2016).…”

How do giraffes locate one another? A review of visual, auditory, and olfactory communication among giraffes

“…Instead, scientific attention has focused on giraffe: (1) diet and feeding habits (e.g. Parker & Bernard, ; Zinn, Ward & Kirkman, ; Bercovitch & Berry, ; Gordon et al ., ), (2) movement and social structure (e.g. van der Jeugd & Prins, ; Cameron & du Toit, ; Flanagan et al ., ), (3) reproductive life‐history characteristics (e.g.…”