Perinatal Maternal and Neonatal Behaviour in the Captive Reticulated Giraffe

Abstract

A captive reticulated giraffe was observed constantly for three weeks prior to, and periodically for 90 days subsequent to, the birth of her calf. Extensive observations were made of the birth sequence, feeding, drinking, sleeping and one instance of an infant distress call, as well as observations of the initiation of maternal behaviour (including licking, nursing, placentophagia, and what appeared to be helping the calf to stand, guiding the calf's movements, and attempts to respond to the calf's distress call). s. Afr. J. Zool. 14: 103-107 (1979) 'n Kameelperdkoei in gevangeskap is onafgebroke vir drie weke voor en periodiek vir 90 dae na die geboorte van haar kalf dopgehou. Noukeurige waarnernings is gedoen van die geboorteproses, die voeding, soog, slaap en, op een geleentheid, van die noodroep van die kalf. Verdere waarnemings is ook gedoen ten opsigte van die aanvang van moedergedrag insluitend die lek en oppas van die kalf, verwydering van die plasente, optrede wat voorgekom het as hulp aan die kalf om te staan, stuur van die kalf in sy bewegings en reaksie op die noodroep van die kalf. At 16h to (EDT on 7 August, at the Buffalo Zoological Gardens Buffalo, New York), a reticulated giraffe, Gira.ffa eamelopardalis retieulala, gave birth to a female calf that was approximately 162 cm tall and weighed between 34 and 45 kg. The mother had been the subject of an around the-clock observation for 21 days prior to delivery. In addition to almost constant visual observation, seven hours of videotape recordings were made during that period, on her behaviour and external physical characteristics.The mother, a 4,5 m tall, nine year-old multipara, and her only surviving offspring, a three year-old nullipara, occupied adjacent stalls in the Buffalo Zoo's giraffe house (the male having died two or three months after copulation). Both giraffes were let into a yard in fine weather for about six to seven hours per day, but during the last three weeks of pregnancy, access to the yard was restricted to two to three hours per day. Food (alfalfa and grain) was provided only indoors. The giraffe house was closed to the public during the last three weeks of pregnancy, to facilitate observation and to avoid undue disturbances, such as those that had seemed to result in the death by abandonment of the mother's previous calf. External physical characteristicsThe mother's abdomen was extremely large (about 30% wider than the pelvis) at -21 days (Day 0 = day of delivery), although symmetrical. The weight of the foetus was sufficient to cause the spine to sag, producing a pronounced dorsal pelvic ridge. The size and shape of the abdomen was not constant over the last three weeks, and changed, not in a constantly increasing fashion, but unpredictably as the foetus apparently changed position. On Day -20, we noted that the bulge of the giraffe's abdomen appeared larger on her left side, but on Days -18 through -1, the bulge appeared greater on the right side. The depth of the abdomen (dorso-ventral plane) also changed over the last ...

Behavioral development in okapis and giraffes

“…In addition, Langman [1977, 19821 has indicated that giraffes have a very specific and unique mother-infant relationship based on the giraffe's unusual physiology. Of the two main early ungulate mother-infant contact systems, some calves are "followers" of their mothers immediately after birth while others are "hiders," ie, the newborn calves remain hidden most of the time during the first weeks while the mothers feed and return at intervals to nurse them [Lent, 1974;Langman, 1977;see Walther in Langman, 19771. Both the giraffe and okapi are of the hider type.…”

Dystocia in a Rothschild Giraffe Leading to a Caesarean Section

“…(1984) recommended that obstetrical examination be carried out after 2 h of active parturition without noticeable signs of progress. This is supported by Dagg and Foster (1982) who stated that a giraffe calving should last between 1 and 2 h. However,Kristal and Noonan (1979) observed a parturition lasting approximately 15 h, with no fetal protrusion shown during the first 14 h, but a healthy calf being born uneventfully. The practicality of intervention is dependent on the facilities available and other factors also need to be considered.…”

Multi‐institutional survey of causes of maternal rejection in Giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis in North American zoos

“…Duration of parturition can be an indicator of dystocia (Treacy et al , 2006). However, Giraffe parturition lasting over 15 hours has been reported without any apparent distress (Kristal & Noonan, 1979), potentially indicating that duration of labour is not a factor in Giraffe dystocia. Most parturition events leading to calf rejection in this survey were within the standard labour duration for the species (2–4 hours) (Bercovitch & Berry, 2015), with the exception of one 7 hour labour.…”