The behavior patterns of giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) housed across 18 US zoos

Every giraffe in this eighteen-zoo study showed repetitive behaviour at least once. Some repeatedly twisted their tongues or licked non-food objects; others paced. Yet the frequency varied enormously, from a behaviour seen only once during the study to one occurring every few minutes. Calling something common can hide important differences between individual animals.

Jason Wark and Katherine Cronin coordinated observations of 66 giraffes across 18 accredited US zoos. Using a shared recording system and trained observers, participating zoos collected short daytime observation sessions over roughly a year. The researchers assembled daily activity patterns and separately recorded every occurrence of repetitive behaviours with no apparent purpose, known as stereotypies.

Feeding and foraging occupied about 39% of visible time on average, although individual values ranged from 14% to 69%. Repetitive behaviours were mostly oral, and their rates varied much more sharply than most ordinary activities. These observations describe what was prevalent, not what should count as healthy: stereotypies can reflect present or past welfare problems. The study did not test which housing or feeding practices caused the differences. Its contribution is a broad reference against which carers can judge an individual, without mistaking the population average for an ideal giraffe day.