The use of dosed and herbage n-Alkanes as markers for the determination of digestive strategies of captive giraffes (giraffa camelopardalis)
Selected aspects of digestion in captive giraffes were investigated in two trials with a type of marker that is new for digestive studies in non-domestic species. n-Alkanes were used as internal and external markers. In Trial 1, diet composition, intake, and digestibility were directly measured and estimated with the marker. Six giraffes were dosed once […]
Comparison of rumen fluid from South African game species and from sheep to digest tanniniferous browse
The hypothesis that South African game animals that use browse containing condensed tannins (CT) could have rumen microbial populations better able to ferment tanniniferous forages was explored. Rumen fluid (RF) from a range of browsing ruminants was used to ferment tanniniferous forages in vitro and the results were compared with the values obtained with rumen […]
The digestive morphophysiology of wild, free-living, giraffes
We have measured rumen-complex (rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum) and intestine (small and large combined) mass in 32 wild giraffes of both sexes with body masses ranging from 289 to 1441 kg, and parotid gland mass, tongue length and mass, masseter and mandible mass in 9 other giraffes ranging in body mass from 181 to 1396 […]