Nighttime Suckling Behavior in Captive Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata)
Suckling behaviors are useful to better understand mother–offspring relationships. However, in many species, knowledge about nighttime suckling behavior is sparse. In the present study, we investigated suckling behavior in four calves of the reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and their mother in the Kyoto City Zoo, Japan, by analyzing video clips of 9614 h. The […]
Suckling and allosuckling behavior in wild giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi)
Allosuckling has been reported in many mammalian species. In giraffe, allosuckling has been observed in captivity, and the milk theft hypothesis with reciprocity is regarded as the likeliest explanation for this behavior. However, reports of such behavior in the wild remain sparse to non-existent. Here, we studied the suckling and allosuckling behaviors of three nursing […]
Stealing milk by young and reciprocal mothers: high incidence of allonursing in giraffes, Giraffa camelopardalis
Allonursing, the nursing of nonfilial offspring, has been reported in a number of mammalian species; however, very few studies have investigated more than three hypotheses. The aim of our study was to investigate seven hypotheses explaining allonursing in captive giraffes. During 2007-2011, we observed 24 females and 37 calves in four zoological gardens in the […]
Giraffe nursing behaviour reflects environmental conditions
Nursing behaviour is one component of mammalian life history strategy that demonstrates context-dependent flexibility within species. Wild giraffes live in groups and feed themselves over large area. In the zoo, giraffes are kept in enclosures with abundant food resources.We aimed to analyse whether the nursing behaviour of giraffes differs between the zoo and nature reserve […]