Grazing behaviour of the giraffe in <scp>H</scp>wange <scp>N</scp>ational <scp>P</scp>ark, <scp>Z</scp>imbabwe

Seeber, Peter A.; Ndlovu, Honestly T.; Duncan, Patrick; Ganswindt, André

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2011.01314.x

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Cerling et al (2015), however, reported that out of their large sample of extant G. camelopardalis, 7 % of the specimens could be classified isotopically as mixed-feeders. These data corroborate observations of G. camelopardalis consuming grasses (Seeber et al 2012), suggesting that this behavior occurs but is very rare in extant Giraffa, which typically forage on the dominant species of browse in a woodland habitat (Pellew 1984). One of the Lee Adoyta Giraffa δ 13 C values (−5.8 ‰) suggests some mixed-feeding for late Pliocene Giraffa in the LAV, although values from the Turkana Basin are exclusively browsers from 4-1 Ma (Cerling et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Lee Adoyta, Ledi-Geraru, and Late Pliocene Dietary Evolution in Giraffids from the Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia

et al. 2016

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The giraffid fossils recovered from~2.8-2.6 million year old (Ma) sediments from Lee Adoyta, Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, are described here. Sivatherium maurusium and Giraffa cf. G. gracilis are the two identified taxa, with the former being more abundant than the latter. We interpret this skew of relative abundance to be of paleoenvironmental significance, as Sivatherium is rare and Giraffa is common in the adjacent, but older sediments of the Hadar Formation at Hadar (~3.4 to 2.95 Ma), which was characterized by wooded and well-watered habitats through most of its sequence. Stable carbon isotope analyses show that Giraffa remained an obligate browser throughout the lower Awash Valley (LAV) sequence while Sivatherium underwent a dietary transition from a browser in the Hadar Formation to a grazer at Lee Adoyta. This dietary shift in Sivatherium reflects local environmental change through time in the LAVas open habitats spread during the late Pliocene. A compilation of isotopic data from other sites in eastern Africa shows that the LAV dietary shift in Sivatherium occurred roughly one million years earlier than in the Turkana Basin, Kenya, reflecting a spatiotemporally staggered expansion of C 4 vegetation across eastern Africa.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Lee Adoyta, Ledi-Geraru, and Late Pliocene Dietary Evolution in Giraffids from the Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia

et al. 2016

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“…But doubt has been cast on the browsing hypothesis by studies that show that giraffes rarely use their necks at full extension to acquire browse and often feed at heights that other browsers do (du Toit, 1990). They also prefer to feed at shoulder height (Young & Isbell, 1991) most of the time (Leuthold & Leuthold, 1972), and sometimes graze (Seeber et al, 2012). Moreover browse free from competition from other browsers could be achieved by a neck 2 m long rather than the 5 m that neck length can reach in male and female giraffes, and there is a vigilance cost to feeding at high level (Cameron & Du Toit, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth patterns and masses of the heads and necks of male and female giraffes

et al. 2013

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We have analyzed the growth patterns of the head and neck of 65 male and 71 female giraffes from two different populations of giraffes, and also the dimensions of 19 different components of the head and neck in 8 female and 13 male giraffes, to establish if they showed sexual dimorphism and if sexual selection for a weapon was a possible origin of the long neck of giraffes. We found that in both genders the rate of increase in head mass was hypoallometric with respect to body mass. The rate of increase in neck length was similar in both genders and faster than the rate of increase in body mass. Increases in neck mass tend to be isometric relative to increases in body mass in both genders before puberty (ca 650kg body mass in males and 700kg in females) but in giraffes of greater body mass increases in neck mass are iso-to hyperallometric in both genders, with final neck, body and head mass being greater in males. The only significant gender difference we found for the dimensions of the 19 different head and neck components was that ossicones and skulls were heavier in mature males than in mature females, but increases in skull mass did not alter the growth pattern of head mass significantly. These data suggest that the morphology and growth patterns of the heads and necks of male and female giraffes are similar, that sexual dimorphism of the head and neck is minimal and can be attributed to secretion of sex steroids. We have concluded that there is no evidence that sexual selection was a factor in the evolution of giraffe morphology and that the long neck of giraffes did not evolve as a weapon 2 in males. The more likely selective advantage of a long neck was improvement of access to high level browse.

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“…He was followed by four other members of the herd who all reacted in the same manner. Giraffe have been observed to lower their forequarters when drinking water or grazing (Dagg & Foster, 1982;Seeber et al, 2012), as well as when feeding on soil or bones (Langman, 1978), but not to investigate the ground.…”

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confidence: 99%

Giraffe cow reaction to the death of her newborn calf

Bercovitch

2012

Afr. J. Ecol.

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Grazing behaviour of the giraffe in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Cited by 19 publications

References 20 publications

Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Lee Adoyta, Ledi-Geraru, and Late Pliocene Dietary Evolution in Giraffids from the Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia

Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Lee Adoyta, Ledi-Geraru, and Late Pliocene Dietary Evolution in Giraffids from the Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia

Growth patterns and masses of the heads and necks of male and female giraffes

Giraffe cow reaction to the death of her newborn calf

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