Does tooth wear influence ageing? A comparative study across large herbivores
We test whether the intensity of tooth wear influences the strength of actuarial senescence across species of large herbivores. We collected from the literature data on tooth wear in the wild (measured as the slope of the regression of log-transformed M1 crown height on age), longevity (measured as the age at which 90% of individuals […]
Serial tranquilization of a reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) using xylazine
A 5-yr-old captive-born reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) was tranquilized with i.m.xylazine 34 times in a 39-day period to allow nursing by her calf. Xylazine administered 0.16mg/kg im. provided adequate sedation of the dam without detrimental side effects to the dam or the calf. While the dam was sedated, the calf was able to ingest […]
Biologic, Antigenic, and Full-Length Genomic Characterization of a Bovine-Like Coronavirus Isolated from a Giraffe
Coronaviruses (CoVs) possess large RNA genomes and exist as quasispecies, which increases the possibility of adaptive mutations and interspecies transmission. Recently, CoVs were recognized as important pathogens in captive wild ruminants. This is the first report of the isolation and detailed genetic, biologic, and antigenic characterization of a bovine-like CoV from a giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) […]
Giraffe restraint, habituation, and desensitization at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
The giraffe restraint device manufactured at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has the capability to fully support the weight of an immobilized adult giraffe in an upright posture and allow physical restraint of giraffe. The unit has been used for either chemical or physical restraint 74 times in 22 months, on seven different adult giraffe, without […]
Multiple anesthetic events in a reticulated giraffe (giraffa camelopardalis)
A 1-mo-old reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) received repeated immobilizations for treatment of a fractured left metatarsus. Etorphine and xylazine or etorphine and iso-flurane adjunct anesthesia were used for immobilization. During immobilizations, pulse oximetry and end tidal CO₂ measurement were made and correlated with arterial blood gas values. Results of observations made during sequential immobilizations suggest […]
Enclosure size in captive wild mammals: A comparison between UK zoological collections and the wild
A comparison was made between the average enclosure size of a random sample of mammals lept during the years 2000-2001in a random sample of UK zoological collections and the minimum home range of these taxa in the wild. Allometric laws were used to estimate the home range area, while direct observation from videotaped visits to […]
Monitoring Giraffe Behavior in Thermal Video
We present a solution for monitoring nocturnal giraffe behavior by reducing several hours of thermal camera surveillance footage into a short video summary which can be reviewed by experts. We formulate the video summarization task as a tracking problem: frames in which giraffes are successfully tracked are presumed to be typical poses/behaviors and not included […]
Consistency of Captive Giraffe Behavior Under Two Different Management Regimes
Long-term animal behavior studies are sometimes conducted at a single site, leading to questions about whether effects are limited to animals in the same environment. Our ability to make general conclusions about behavior is improved when we can identify behaviors that are consistent across a range of environments. To extend Veasey and colleagues’ ([1996b] Anim […]
Equine Herpesvirus Type 9 in Giraffe with Encephalitis
Herpesviruses have been isolated from many mammals. Herpesvirus infection in natural hosts is often mild and is usually followed by a latent infection; however, cross-species herpesvirus infections cause severe and fatal diseases. These findings may explain why the giraffe had lesions while the zebras in the same enclosure did not. Outcome: The fact the zebras […]
Nocturnal “humming” vocalizations: adding a piece to the puzzle of giraffe vocal communication
Background: Recent research reveals that giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis sp.) exhibit a socially structured, fission– fusion system. In other species possessing this kind of society, information exchange is important and vocal communication is usually well developed. But is this true for giraffes? Giraffes are known to produce sounds, but there is no evidence that they use […]