Posted on 11/27/2018 12:08:26 PM PST by ETL
While already known that giraffes display preferred choices of companion within their social group, until now it has not been clear what drives these and whether these choices are just some, or all of the time. University of Bristol researcher Zoe Muller and her colleagues from Switzerland, Kenya, Brazil and the United Kingdom aimed to explore what factors drive specific interactions in giraffes, and whether behavioral state or disturbance by humans and predators had any effect on social relationships
The dynamic nature of animal societies often hides multiple layers of complexity, Muller said.
Our work highlights the complex and dynamic nature of the giraffe social structure, which could have far-reaching implications for conservation, and guide the process of how giraffe populations are managed in the wild.
Muller and co-authors spent almost two years studying giraffes in the Great Rift Valley region of Kenya, to analyze association patterns in wild populations.
Through photo-identification data, the researchers were able to determine individual giraffes and then observe them in a range of different habitats.
Using the data gathered, they found that many pairs of giraffes would spend a high proportion of their time together when they were searching for food and eating.
This behavior is displayed because eating with known and selected friends offers benefits to the individual, Muller said.
It is presumable that if you are with a known partner, they may be reliable at alarming you if a predator is around, or it may be that you both share the same meal requirements, and so your foraging and eating behavior is complementary.
The findings, published in the journal Animal Behaviour, offer completely new information about the social preferences of giraffes, and an insight into some of the possible evolutionary mechanisms which have shaped social groups today.
(Excerpt) Read more at sci-news.com ...
Because there’s no future in foraging with enemies.
Because there’s no future in foraging with enemies.
Bring along a few long-neck bottled beers.
I now see the purpose of the nubs on their heads.
Giraffes like to Pub-Crawl with their pals...
You know, I think I like giraffes a bit better now.
Always did, but knowing this makes their image even better.
They tried being buds with the lions, but they could never agree on what to eat.
Even if Ford Prefect was somewhat responsible.
They’re called Ossicones and are evolutionary remnants of antlers. They play a part when a giraffe attacks. I know when they killed that photographer last year, the giraffes used them to batter him to death.
I understand they are really vicious when on the attack.
Reminds her of band camp.
Another waste of grant money. Ever live on a farm? All animals enjoy the company of some animals and others not so much.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.