Scientific commentary
Why a Giraffe Population Crash Can Hide in Its DNA
A genetic reconstruction and a wildlife count describe different histories. Comparing them reveals both the value and the limits of a genomic record.
Giraffe research, explained.Page 10
The questions, fieldwork and discoveries behind giraffe science. Each story explains an original study, what it found and what remains uncertain.
Research stories
82–90 of 179 stories
Scientific commentary
What a growing giraffe neck teaches fossil modellers
Bones can preserve clues to movement, but growth changes both the bones and the spaces between them.
Scientific commentary
How Air and Blood Meet Inside a Giraffe Lung
A large lung has to distribute both incoming air and circulating blood. A rare physiological measurement investigated how well those two supplies met.
Scientific commentary
How a giraffe’s lungs and windpipe change as it grows
A long neck adds air that never reaches the gas-exchange surface. Lung growth changes the room available for each breath.
Scientific commentary
The Hormone-Making Tissues of a Giraffe Pregnancy
An unborn female giraffe already has remarkably active-looking ovaries. A study asked how that development fits into the hormonal support of pregnancy.
Scientific commentary
The Extra Neck Joints Behind a Fossil Head-Butter
A fossil with a disk-shaped head and unusually reinforced neck offered researchers a way to test what those extra bony supports actually did.
Scientific commentary
The Giraffes That Bent Down to Eat Grass in Hwange
The awkward posture is familiar from drinking. Close observation revealed a different reason for lowering a giraffe’s head to the ground.
Scientific commentary
Why Camera Volunteers Missed Animals in Plain Sight
A giraffe can be present in a photograph and absent from the resulting data. Camera settings help determine whether volunteers notice it.
Scientific commentary
Teaching a Photo Catalogue to Recognise Giraffes Again
A useful wildlife catalogue must recognise familiar giraffes, leave room for newcomers and avoid turning several photographs into several imaginary animals.