Sleep‐related behaviors in zoo‐housed giraffes (<i>Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata</i>): Basic characteristics and effects of season and parturition

Takagi, Naoko; Saito, Miho; Itô, Hideyuki; Tanaka, Masayuki; Yamanashi, Yumi

doi:10.1002/zoo.21511

Cited by 9 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Captive adult males reportedly had longer nighttime recumbency bouts than adult female (Takagi et al ., 2019). However, we found no sex difference in the duration of recumbency in adult wild giraffe.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, we found no sex difference in the duration of recumbency in adult wild giraffe. Furthermore, adult wild giraffe had shorter mean daytime recumbency bouts (males = 45 min, females = 51 min) compared to captive giraffe during the nighttime (a male = 173 min, a female = 136 min; Takagi et al ., 2019). This distinction may be explained by differences in social cues, activity budget, or the environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Giraffe also display a ‘deep‐sleep’ posture, especially at an early age, in which the head is resting on the body (Tobler & Schwierin, 1996). Most types of recumbency indicate drowsiness, whereas the deep‐sleep posture indicates REM sleep (Tobler & Schwierin, 1996; Takagi et al ., 2019). We observed six instances of deep‐sleep posture, which we included in the resting category.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, wild adult male giraffe are recumbent for more of the day compared to adult females, although this has not yet been quantified (Leuthold & Leuthold, 1978; Ginnett & Demment, 1997). In captive adult giraffe, a nocturnal recumbency bout lasts 2.5 h on average in both males and females, and individuals display a recumbent posture an average of 3.11 times per night (Takagi et al ., 2019). Wild giraffe also spend part of the night in a recumbent posture (Pellew, 1984; Burger et al ., 2020), but the characteristics of their diurnal recumbent behavior, such as duration or frequency, are poorly understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous reports indicate that young captive giraffe display shorter but more frequent nighttime recumbency bouts compared to other age‐classes (Tobler & Schwierin, 1996). Furthermore, captive pregnant giraffe exhibit recumbent posture less frequently and for shorter durations than males, possibly because of discomfort (Kristal & Noonan, 1979; Takagi et al ., 2019). Additionally, lactation is the most energetically expensive behavior in mammals (Martin, 1984), and lactating females spend more time feeding than resting relative to non‐lactating females (mountain goat Oreamnos americanus , Hamel & Côté, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Giraffe diurnal recumbent behavior and habitat utilization in Katavi National Park, Tanzania

Saito

Idani

2020

Journal of Zoology

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Resting behaviors play an important role in animals’ daily activities by minimizing energy consumption. Although this may be equally important to other behavioral states for sustaining life, it has not been well studied in the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). This study characterized the bout duration, frequency, and age–sex class differences in diurnal recumbent behavior of free‐ranging giraffe. Additionally, it is currently unknown whether giraffe utilize shady or safe areas for diurnal recumbency, as many other animals do. Therefore, we also investigated this in the present study. Data were collected in Katavi National Park, Tanzania, during four time periods. The duration of recumbency bouts was calculated from 170 episodes, and the frequency of recumbency was determined by following 24 individuals for more than 10 h each. Habitat type was categorized into wooded grassland or miombo woodland, and habitat preference was analyzed based on 173.6 h of observations. We found no significant difference in the duration of recumbency bouts among the four age‐classes and between sexes in adults. On the other hand, calves (n = 2) rested more frequently than did other age‐groups, possibly due to differences in predation risk or activity budgets. Adult males had a higher frequency of recumbency compared to adult females, possibly because pregnant/nursing females were hindered in adopting this posture. We also found that giraffe primarily utilized the miombo woodland for daytime recumbency, likely because the high tree density reduces heat stress, and its seclusion from the river reduces predation risk.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Giraffe diurnal recumbent behavior and habitat utilization in Katavi National Park, Tanzania

Saito

Idani

2020

Journal of Zoology

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Biological and environmental factors as sources of variation in nocturnal behavior of giraffe

2021

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Upon a drastic decline of the giraffe population in the wild, conservation efforts and therefore the role of zoos have become more important than ever. With their unique opportunities, zoos provide excellent conditions to study animal behavior, expanding the knowledge about the giraffe's behavior repertoire and their ability to adapt. This study therefore examined the nocturnal behavior of 63 giraffe living in 13 different EAZA zoos across Germany and the Netherlands. Giraffe were observed and videos recorded via infrared sensitive cameras during the winter seasons 2015–2018. The observation period spanned nightly from 17:00 to 7:00. Thus, 198 nights, with a total of 2772 h were recorded and analyzed. Linear mixed models were then used to assess potential biological and environmental factors influencing behavior during the dark phase. Results show that individual variables such as age, subspecies and motherhood determined nocturnal activity and sleep behavior most. Among the variables studied, husbandry conditions and environmental factors complying with EAZA standards had no influence on the giraffe's nocturnal behavior. By combining nocturnal activity analyses and an assessment of potential influencing factors, our findings present a holistic approach to a better understanding of captive giraffe behavior and allow for management implications.

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From left to right all through the night: Characteristics of lying rest in zoo elephants

Schiffmann¹,

Hellriegel²,

Clauss

et al. 2022

Zoo Biology

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Despite increased research during the past years, many characteristics of resting behavior in elephants are still unknown. For example, there is only limited data suggesting elephants express longer lying bouts and increased total nightly lying durations on soft substrates as compared to hard surfaces. Additionally, it has not been investigated how frequently elephants change body sides between lying bouts.Here we present these characteristics based on observations of nighttime lying behavior in 10 zoo elephants (5 African Loxodonta africana and 5 Asian Elephas maximus elephants) living in five different European facilities. We found that elephants housed on soft substrates have significantly increased total lying durations per night and longer average lying bouts. Furthermore, at 70%−85% of all bouts, a consistently higher frequency of side change between lying bouts occurred on soft substrates, leading to an overall equal laterality in resting behavior. Deviations from this pattern became evident in elephants living on nonsand flooring or/and in nondominant individuals of nonfamily groups, respectively. Based on our findings, we consider elephants to normally have several lying bouts per night with frequent side changes, given an appropriate substrate and healthy social environment. We encourage elephant-keeping facilities to monitor these characteristics in their elephants' nighttime behavior to determine opportunities for further improvements and detect alterations putatively indicating social or health problems in individual elephants at an early stage.

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Sleep‐related behaviors in zoo‐housed giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata): Basic characteristics and effects of season and parturition

Cited by 9 publications

References 29 publications

Giraffe diurnal recumbent behavior and habitat utilization in Katavi National Park, Tanzania

Giraffe diurnal recumbent behavior and habitat utilization in Katavi National Park, Tanzania

Biological and environmental factors as sources of variation in nocturnal behavior of giraffe

From left to right all through the night: Characteristics of lying rest in zoo elephants

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