All the eggs in one basket: A countrywide assessment of current and historical giraffe population distribution in Uganda

To design effective conservation and management strategies at the national scale, it is important to consider population trends across space and time. Here we assessed the near threatened Rothschild’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) in Uganda. We applied individual-based photographic surveys to generate abundance estimates for all extant populations, using either mark-recapture estimates or complete enumeration, […]

A conservation assessment of Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa

Taxonomic notes: Currently, nine subspecies classifications have been proposed for Giraffe (Ansell 1972; Dagg & Foster 1982; Kingdon 1997; East 1999; Grubb 2005; Ciofolo & Pendu 2013). There is considerable uncertainty surrounding the geographic and taxonomic limits of all described subspecies (Fennessy et al. 2013). Furthermore, recent genetic work suggests that several subspecies may even […]

Giraffe social preferences are context dependent

The dynamic nature of animal societies often hides multiple layers of complexity. The field of animal behaviour is rapidly advancing with the development of increasingly sophisticated analytical methods that allow scientists to identify complex and nuanced drivers of social patterns. The resurgent interest in giraffe sociality illustrates this by challenging the early view that individuals […]

Conservation conundrum: Endangered predators eating endangered prey

As populations of wildlife dwindle in number, and as ecosystems suitable for animals disappear, conservation conundrums emerge that have no easy solutions. One such issue involves predators and prey. What can be done when an endangered species of predators might be hastening the extinction of an endangered species of prey by including it in their […]

Right on track? Performance of satellite telemetry in terrestrial wildlife research

Satellite telemetry is an increasingly utilized technology in wildlife research, and current devices can track individual animal movements at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. However, as we enter the golden age of satellite telemetry, we need an in-depth understanding of the main technological, species-specific and environmental factors that determine the success and failure of satellite […]

Overview of the ecology of the Niger giraffe

The giraffe of Niger are the last in all West Africa. It is threatened. They are both genetically and ecologically distinct from other giraffe and are therefore an important biodiversity remnant. Although baseline research has been limited, it does provide snapshots of what has happened to the population’s numbers and distribution over the past decade. […]

Giraffe fact sheet

Giraffes are one of the world’s tallest mammals. They are well known for their long necks, long legs, and spotted patterns. Giraffes have small “horns” or knobs on top of their heads that grow to be about five inches long. These knobs are used to protect the head in fights.

Shoot characteristics of Acacia tortilis (Forsk.) in wildlife and rangeland habitats of Botswana

Length, branch production, orientation, spinescence and biomass were measured for current shoots of Acacia tortilis shrubs in a range of habitats in Botswana. All shoot characteristics varied between individuals and between habitats with longer, less spinescent shoots produced in the habitat recently protected from wildlife. Biomass allocated to woody material increased with shoot length at […]

Population ecology of Maasai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) in relation to climate variability in southern Kenya.

Wildlife populations and their habitats are facing serious threats from global changes in climate and human development activities. Large herbivores with slow reproductive rates, bulk food requirements, wide foraging ranges and high potential value are highly vulnerable to those changes. Their responses to environmental pressures and human-induced landscape changes are however, not well understood.  The […]

Wilfred Thesiger – The life of my choice

Wilfred Thesiger is the last of the great British eccentric explorers, renowned for his travels through some of the most inaccessible places on earth. As a child in Abyssinia he watched the glorious armies of Ras Tafari returning from hand-to-hand battle, their prisoners in chains; at the age of 23 he made his first expedition […]