Sparring dynamics and individual laterality in male South African giraffes

Male giraffes have a favourite side for swinging their necks at rivals. Some consistently deliver blows from the right; others strongly favour the left. That preference can even explain why two males stand facing the same direction in one sparring bout but opposite directions in another.

Jessica Granweiler, Jack Thorley and Shay Rotics followed eleven male South African giraffes on a fenced reserve in Limpopo for seven months. Across 118 sparring bouts, they recorded the animals' identities, relative sizes, positions and exchanges of blows. Ten males actually sparred; the largest, dominant bull was never seen doing so, although he frequently interrupted others.

Six sparring males favoured their right side and four their left. Animals with the same preference stood head-to-tail; those with opposite preferences stood head-to-head. Young adults sparred most often, particularly with similarly sized partners, and no observed bout escalated into a fight. These patterns fit practice or mutual assessment, but the study did not establish that sparring improved later fighting success. In this small population, an apparently simple exchange of neck blows was structured by both the partner's size and a remarkably consistent individual preference.