An Assessment of Forage Selection by Giraffe Introduced into Umfurudzi Park, Northern Zimbabwe

Counting trees missed a seasonal change in giraffe food choices. In Zimbabwe’s Umfurudzi Park, introduced giraffes selected different plants as the year progressed, even though vegetation surveys found no clear seasonal difference in woody species diversity. Knowing which trees were present was not enough to describe what the animals actually chose to eat.

Takunda Munyaka and Edson Gandiwa followed an eight-animal herd between May and December 2016 inside a large acclimatisation enclosure. After a giraffe browsed a plant, they surveyed the surrounding vegetation, establishing 106 observation plots. Comparing plants eaten with plants encountered let them assess how readily giraffes selected each species when it was available.

The giraffes browsed 12 of the 29 woody species recorded. Measured acceptance was higher in the dry season, while overall availability and diversity indices did not differ significantly. Seasonal changes in edible plant parts offered a possible explanation: sweet thorn bore fruit in the dry season and leaves in the wet season. The authors suggested giraffes could use these different parts; they did not document that specific switch in consumption. Nutrient intake was not measured, and the enclosed herd limits wider conclusions. The demonstrated discovery is changing plant selection, with changing food quality or plant parts remaining possible explanations.