![]() They do not live in thick forests where it is difficult to see predators (such as lions) approaching.The temperature is normally around 70 degrees. They live on the savannah, which is the African grassland, or in light woodland. These are fur-covered bumps on their skulls, unlike the horns of other animals. These come from the cartilage displaced from their skull as it develops. Both male and female giraffes have small horn-like stumps on their head, which are covered with skin. The different sub-species have different coat patterns. Their fur has a light yellowish tan or off-white colour with brown or russet patches. This they use to wrap around leaves and pull them off trees. They have a long black tongue, up to 45 cm in length. Maximum weights of 1,930 kg (4,250 lb) and having been recorded for males and females, respectively. The average weight is 1,192 kg (2,628 lb) for an adult male and 828 kg (1,825 lb) for an adult female. The tallest recorded male was 5.88 m (19.3 ft) and the tallest recorded female was 5.17 m (17.0 ft) tall. Fully grown giraffes stand 4.3–5.7 m (14.1–18.7 ft) tall, with males taller than females. Giraffes are the tallest land animals on Earth, with necks that can be up to 2-2.4 m (6.6-7.9 ft) in length. Giraffes have a very long neck and long legs. Giraffes and Okapi are the family Giraffidae, and are the only extant giraffids. Giraffes have an even number of toes and are the tallest land animals. Journal of Zoology 316:49-60.A giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis) is a mammal which lives in Africa. Exploring the connections between giraffe skin disease and lion predation. ![]() This research however, demonstrates that GSD may indirectly do so by increasing affected individuals vulnerability to lion predation. It is presently unclear whether GSD directly reduces the survivability of giraffes. This research does not definitively identify that giraffes with GSD are more vulnerable to lion predation, but it does suggest that there may be a mechanistic link. The authors also found that lion marks, which provided the evidence of a previous lion hunting attempt, were more common among giraffes with severe GSD. They found that giraffes, among 16 different prey species detected as pursued by lions, were killed most often by lions (27%, n = 171 of 641). To explore this hypothesis, the team followed lions to estimate the rate at which giraffes were targeted and conducted giraffe surveys to detect evidence of previous lion hunting attempts, indicated by missing tails and claw marks on the back of giraffes. As the GSD lesions are located on the legs of giraffes in Ruaha, the hypothesis was that giraffes with GSD might be less able to evade lion hunting attempts. Arthur Muneza, evaluated whether the incidence of GSD affected lion predation of giraffes in Ruaha. Given these defense mechanisms, and the fact that a variety of other prey species exist in Ruaha, it was not clear why lions seem to be targeting giraffes. Giraffes are a large and formidable prey species that can easily injure a lion with a well-placed kick. In that same national park, biologists with the Ruaha Carnivore Project (now Lion Landscapes) have also found that lions appear to prey on giraffes relatively frequently. Though detected across the range of giraffes, a hotspot for GSD is in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania, where 85% of the giraffe population has this disease. The disease manifests as large flaky skin lesions that appear to irritate and itch affected giraffes. This is an emergent disease of presently unknown causes, which has been found to affect giraffes both in the wild and in captivity. ![]() A new study by a team at WildCRU has explored potential connections between lion predation and Giraffe Skin Disease (GSD).
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