The Faecal Microbiome Analysed from Healthy, Free-Roaming Giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis)

A giraffe's extra feed may leave a bacterial signature in its dung. Free-roaming animals receiving manufactured pellets carried a different mixture of microbes in their droppings from giraffes browsing natural vegetation alone. The comparison suggests that food provision may affect more than the quantity an animal eats.

Andri Grobbelaar, Gernot Osthoff, Francois Deacon and Errol Cason analysed 26 selected faecal samples from 13 giraffes at six locations in South Africa's Free State. Samples came from a two-year collection programme spanning 2021–2023. The team sequenced a bacterial identification marker, then compared microbial profiles between feeding practices. They also explored sex differences and followed seasonal variation in one male.

Several microbial groups differed in relative abundance between the feeding groups, including higher proportions of two groups associated with plant digestion in animals receiving supplements. Seasonal and sex comparisons did not yield statistically clear differences in individual microbial abundances. This small, uneven observational sample could not separate feeding from location or establish which mixture was healthier. Like the team's chemical analysis of giraffe dung, it offers a possible way to monitor animals without capture. The immediate achievement is a description of variation among apparently healthy giraffes, not a validated diagnosis of nutritional trouble.