Southern Giraffe

Giraffa giraffa

General Description

Scientific Name: Giraffa giraffa

Subspecies: 2 subspecies

Angolan Giraffe (G. g. angolensis)
South African Giraffe or Cape Giraffe (G. g. giraffa)

Status: Near Threatened (decreasing)

Population Estimate: 44,900

Population in Assessed Areas: 1,253

Diet: Herbivore - browser

Male Size: 1,000-1,900 Kgs

Female Size: 700-13,00 Kgs

Trophy Size: N/a

Generation Length: 10 years

Reproductive Season: Year Round

Time of Activity: Diurnal

Description: Fully grown giraffes stand 4.3–5.7 m (14–19 ft) tall, with males taller than females. The average weight is 1,192 kg (2,628 lb) for an adult male and 828 kg (1,825 lb) for an adult female, though very large bulls may reach over 1,900 kg in some instances. Despite its long neck and legs, its body is relatively short. The skin is mostly gray, or tan, and can reach a thickness of 20 mm (0.79 in). The 80–100 cm (39 in) long tail ends in a long, dark tuft of hair and is used as a defense against insects.

The coat has dark blotches or patches, which can be orange, chestnut, brown, or nearly black, surrounded by light hair, usually white or cream colored. Male giraffes become darker as they grow old. The coat pattern has been claimed to serve as camouflage in the light and shade patterns of savannah woodlands.[37] When standing among trees and bushes, they are hard to see at even a few metres distance. However, adult giraffes move about to gain the best view of an approaching predator, relying on their size and ability to defend themselves rather than on camouflage, which may be more important for calves.[8] Each giraffe has a unique coat pattern. Calves inherit some coat pattern traits from their mothers, and variation in some spot traits is correlated with calf survival. The skin under the blotches may regulate the animal's body temperature, being sites for complex blood vessel systems and large sweat glands.[55] Spotless, or solid-color giraffes are very rare but have been observed, with one known calf present on Okonjati game reserve in Northern Namibia.

The fur may give the animal chemical defense, as its parasite repellents give it a characteristic scent. At least 11 main aromatic chemicals are in the fur, although indole and 3-methylindole are responsible for most of the smell. Because males have a stronger odor than females, it may also have a sexual function.

The Southern subspecies of the southern giraffe has dark, somewhat rounded patches "with some fine projections" on a tawny background colour. The spots extend down the legs and get smaller. The median lump of bulls is less developed as well.

Both sexes have prominent horn-like structures called ossicones, which can reach 13.5 cm (5.3 in). They are formed from ossified cartilage, covered in skin and fused to the skull at the parietal bones.: 95–97 Being vascularized, the ossicones may have a role in thermoregulation, and are used in combat between males. Appearance is a reliable guide to the sex or age of a giraffe: the ossicones of females and young are thin and display tufts of hair on top, whereas those of adult males tend to be bald and knobbed on top. A lump, which is more prominent in males, emerges in the middle of the skull. Males develop calcium deposits that form bumps on their skulls as they age. Multiple sinuses lighten a giraffe's skull. However, as males age, their skulls become heavier and more club-like, helping them become more dominant in combat. The occipital condyles at the bottom of the skull allow the animal to tip its head over 90 degrees and grab food on the branches directly above them with the tongue

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Ecology: Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and open woodlands. They prefer areas dominated by Acacieae, Commiphora, Combretum and Terminalia tree over Brachystegia which are more densely packed.[ The Angolan giraffe can be found in desert environments. Giraffes browse on the twigs of trees, preferring those of the subfamily Acacieae and the genera Commiphora and Terminalia, which are important sources of calcium and protein to sustain the giraffe's growth rate. They also feed on shrubs, grass (rarely) and fruit (particularly the fruit of the marula tree). A giraffe eats around 34 kg (75 lb) of plant matter daily. When stressed, giraffes may chew on large branches, stripping them of bark. Giraffes are also recorded to chew old bones.

During the wet season, food is abundant and giraffes are more spread out, while during the dry season, they gather around the remaining evergreen trees and bushes. Mothers tend to feed in open areas, presumably to make it easier to detect predators, although this may reduce their feeding efficiency. As a ruminant, the giraffe first chews its food, then swallows it for processing and then visibly passes the half-digested cud up the neck and back into the mouth to chew again. The giraffe requires less food than many other herbivores because the foliage it eats has more concentrated nutrients and it has a more efficient digestive system.[90] The animal's faeces come in the form of small pellets.[19] When it has access to water, a giraffe will go no more than three days without drinking.

Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving "waistlines" to too tall trees. Feeding is at its highest during the first and last hours of daytime. Between these hours, giraffes mostly stand and ruminate. Rumination is the dominant activity during the night, when it is mostly done lying down.

Behavior: Giraffes usually form groups that vary in size and composition according to ecological, anthropogenic, temporal, and social factors. Traditionally, the composition of these groups had been described as open and ever-changing. For research purposes, a "group" has been defined as "a collection of individuals that are less than a kilometer apart and moving in the same general direction". More recent studies have found that giraffes have long lasting social groups or cliques based on kinship, sex or other factors, and these groups regularly associate with other groups in larger communities or sub-communities within a fission–fusion society. Proximity to humans can disrupt social arrangements.

Group size usually ranges from one up to 66 individuals, but much larger herds of over 100 animals have been seen on occasion. Giraffe groups tend to be sex-segregated although mixed-sex groups made of adult females and young males also occur. Female groups may be matrilineally related. Generally females are more selective than males in who they associate with regarding individuals of the same sex. Particularly stable giraffe groups are those made of mothers and their young, which can last weeks or months.[101] Young males also form groups and will engage in playfights. However, as they get older, males become more solitary but may also associate in pairs or with female groups. Giraffes are not territorial, but they have home ranges that vary according to rainfall and proximity to human settlements. Male giraffes occasionally roam far from areas that they normally frequent, often wandering outside of protected areas, endangering themselves in the process.

Predation: Giraffes have high adult survival probability, and an unusually long lifespan compared to other ruminants, up to 38 years. Adult female survival is significantly correlated with the number of social associations. Because of their size, eyesight and powerful kicks, adult giraffes are mostly safe from predation, with lions being their only major threats. Calves are much more vulnerable than adults and are also preyed on by leopards, spotted hyenas and wild dogs. A quarter to a half of giraffe calves reach adulthood, with calf survival varying according to the season of birth, with calves born during the dry season having higher survival rates.

The local and seasonal presence of large herds of migratory wildebeest and zebra reduces predation pressure on giraffe calves and increases their survival probability. In turn, it has been suggested that other ungulates may benefit from associating with giraffes, as their height allows them to spot predators from further away. Zebras were found to assess predation risk by watching giraffes and spend less time looking around when giraffes are present.

Reproduction: Reproduction in giraffes is broadly polygamous, with only a few older males mate with the fertile females. Females can reproduce throughout the year and experience oestrus cycling approximately every 15 days. Female giraffes in estrous are dispersed over space and time, so reproductive adult males adopt a strategy of roaming among female groups to seek mating opportunities, with periodic hormone-induced rutting behavior approximately every two weeks. Males prefer young adult females over juveniles and older adults, which may impact inception rates in some populations.

Male giraffes assess female fertility by tasting the female's urine to detect oestrus, in a multi-step process known as the flehmen response. Once an oestrous female is detected, the male will attempt to court her. When courting, dominant males will keep subordinate ones at bay. A courting male may lick a female's tail, lay his head and neck on her body or nudge her with his ossicones. During copulation, the male stands on his hind legs with his head held up and his front legs resting on the female's sides.

Giraffe gestation lasts 400–460 days, after which a single calf is normally born, although twins occur on rare occasions. The mother gives birth standing up. The calf emerges head and front legs first, having broken through the fetal membranes, and falls to the ground, severing the umbilical cord. A newborn giraffe is 1.7–2 m (5 ft 7 in – 6 ft 7 in) tall. Within a few hours of birth, the calf can run around and is almost indistinguishable from a one-week-old. However, for the first one to three weeks, it spends most of its time hiding, its coat pattern providing camouflage. The ossicones, which have lain flat in the womb, raise up in a few days

Conservation Analysis

Current & Historic range: prior to European colonization of sub-Saharan Africa, all of the giraffe subspecies, ranged across millions of acres of habitat, and were likely the second most dominant large browser on the continent, only being exceeded by elephants. Their current range has since shrunk greatly, largely due to competition with livestock, poaching, and habitat loss.

Despite their name, Angolan giraffe were extirpated (locally extinct) in Angola until recent translocations from Namibia. The Angolan giraffe’s range includes central Botswana, most parts of Namibia, and various populations scattered throughout Zimbabwe. The range of South African giraffe is dotted throughout south-eastern Angola, north-eastern Namibia, northern Botswana, south-western Zambia, Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique, and throughout South Africa. Previous re-introductions of the South African and Angolan giraffe to overlapping areas have most likely resulted in hybrid populations

Current & Historic Populations: Though it's unknown exactly how many Southern Giraffe once existed across their historical range, the number likely ranges close to 1 million animals. Current estimates of the two southern Giraffe subspecies places them at 20,000 individuals for the Angolan Giraffe, and 30,000 individuals for the South African or Cape Giraffe. Both of these subspecies are experiences both range and population increases, in response to historical exploitation of the species, and the corresponding conservation efforts that have helped save them.

Threats to Species Survival: Three major threats to Southern Giraffes can be identified, although the severity and presence of these threats varies by region and population. First and foremost is Habitat loss, through deforestation, land use conversion, expansion of agricultural activities and human population growth. Second is poaching, though this has been dramatically reduced in across the South African and Namibian ranges due to increased protection. Last but not least, we have ecological changes (mining activity, habitat conversion to agriculture, climate-induced processes,).

In Southern Africa, the main perceived threats are habitat loss and conversion of land for human development, and illegal hunting. Natural habitat changes from weather irregularities result in situations generating human movement, sometimes into protected, or semi-protected, areas. Drought conditions have become more common and increase the prospects of bush fires, loss of habitat, and human population movements.

Habitat fragmentation and degradation are probably the most widespread and greatest threats to African wildlife, including Giraffes, often arising as a consequence of mineral extraction and/or habitat conversion to agricultural crops. This is despite giraffes often not competing with livestock, particularly cattle,, due to their vastly different diets.

Map of Southern Giraffe Distribution

* Southern Giraffe range shown in shades of blue to the right

Southern Giraffe Population Data

Country	Population Estimate	Population Status	Last Assessed
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Uganda
Tanzania
South Sudan
Rwanda
Nigeria
Mozambique
Malawi
Kenya
Gabon
Equatorial Guinea
Democratic Republic of Congo
Central African Republic
Cameroon
Angola
South Africa

*Further data on Southern Giraffe populations and harvest numbers outside of South Africa and Namibia are largely incomplete, and hence it has not been evaluated by us. It is our goal to expand into other African Nations soon, so please do be patient with us.

Recommended Conservation Actions:

Further resource and manage protected areas where Southern Giraffe exist.
Encourage the implementation of economic incentives that allow landowners to profit off the presence of healthy Southern Giraffe populations, whether that be through hunting or ecotourism.
Improve the ability for Giraffe populations to move widely across a landscape, allowing for the restorations of historical seasonal migrations between ideal habitats, and access to key water sources.
Improve survey methods to get accurate population data, such as implementing long-term monitoring programs.

Economic & Cultural Analysis

Ecotourism Value: Extremely High

Hunting Value: High

Meat Value: High

Average Trophy Value: $2,000 - 5,000 USD

Meat Yield per Animal: 400-900 kg

Economic Value/Impacts: Southern Giraffe present considerable value to both the ecotourism and hunting industries across their range, as well as to rural and hunter-gatherer peoples that have hunted this species for thousands of years. Their large body size meant that each animal produces a considerable amount of meat, that can feed several families at a time.

Giraffe are one of the most iconic wildlife species on the African continent, only being surpassed by lions, elephants, and possibly rhinos. Because of this, the mere presence of giraffes on a property can be a significant drawcard for ecotourism reserves, and are often one of the most sought after species on game drives.

As southern giraffe populations on some reserves have begun to increase due to effective conservation policies, excess mature males have become very valuable to international hunters. Though not as valuable as other common species like Cape Buffalo, Roan or Sable, a single Giraffe bull can generate up to $5,000 USD in revenue in exceptional instances, a revenue stream that is very valuable to landowners. Due to their high cultural value amongst western cultures, there is considerable stigma around the hunting of giraffe, even though it has been proven to be an effective revenue producing technique, to help fund the entire population's protection.

Cultural Value: Giraffe have been pursued as prey by hunter gatherer tribes thousands of years, being a staple food source for communities in many areas. In many cultures, different parts of a giraffe's body are used in religious ceremonies, hence making them highly valuable on today's black markets. This has caused significant impacts on giraffe populations in Eastern and Western Africa, but less so in their Southern Range, largely due to the greater amount of regulation present in these countries.

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