The relationship between physical injury, body condition and stress-related hormone concentrations in freeranging giraffes
A physiological stress response can be triggered by a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, but minimal information is available about the physiological stress response related to pain in wildlife. Recently established techniques now allow the non-invasive measurement of faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations to monitor the physiological stress response in giraffe. We examined the […]
Influence of ration composition on nutritive and digestive variables in captive giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) indicating the appropriateness of feeding practice
The nutrition of captive giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), a browsing ruminant, is challenging because browse availability is limited in zoos and rations need to be composed of compensatory feeds. In this study, ration composition for giraffes in 12 German zoos was documented and linked to animal variables that indicate suitability of nutrition. Rations differed in proportion […]