The influence of feeding opportunities of six zoohoused Giraffa camelopardalis rothschild

Abstract

Previous studies on captive giraffes have shown that an increase in foraging opportunities leads to reduced abnormal behaviour. This study evaluates the nocturnal behaviours of six captive giraffes, housed in Aalborg Zoo (N: 57.04°, E: 9.90°). The herd consists of one male giraffe (age 8), one male calf (age 1 ½), two femelle giraffe (age 7; 20) and two female calves (age 8 months; 2 years).  The observations lasted eight nights and compared two observation periods (October and November) with different compositions of branches. The giraffes spent approximately 30% of their nocturnal activity on feeding behaviour. An increase in feeding behaviour was correlated with a decrease in oral stereotypy. It was observed that the type of branches influenced time spent on browsing as it was consumed at different rates. Further studies are required to clarify questions left in this study, such as studies with more observation days and known types of branches