Scientific commentary
Why Tarangire’s Aerial Giraffe Estimates Needed Correction
Photographing identifiable giraffes exposed a large aerial undercount, but the size of the correction changed sharply between neighbouring landscapes.
Giraffe research, explained.Page 14
The questions, fieldwork and discoveries behind giraffe science. Each story explains an original study, what it found and what remains uncertain.
Research stories
118–126 of 179 stories
Scientific commentary
One Set of Giraffe Photographs, Very Different Headcounts
Waterhole cameras recorded 101 recognizable giraffes. Explaining who returned, and when, was essential to estimating how many remained unseen.
Scientific commentary
A Photo Census Put Cameroon’s Giraffes Back in View
Repeated photographs revealed more giraffes than an earlier aerial count, but the new estimate answered a different question from population recovery.
Scientific commentary
What Satellite Maps Can Say About Giraffe Habitat
Thirty-one tracked giraffes helped map habitat across a much wider region, but a suitable-looking pixel was not proof of a safe place to live.
Scientific commentary
More Giraffes Changed How Visitors Saw the Herd
A fuller enclosure can look more socially suitable even when its floor area stays the same. That impression is a human response worth distinguishing from animal welfare.
Scientific commentary
A Giraffe Feeding Visit Also Reaches the Zebra
Animals outside the advertised encounter can still share its food, crowds and movements. A mixed exhibit makes them part of the assessment.
Scientific commentary
Two Giraffes Faced the Same Building Work Differently
A long observation period captured several upheavals in one enclosure—and responses that a single measure would have missed.
Scientific commentary
Can Giraffes Choose What an Audio Device Plays?
Two prototype interfaces tested the gap between making a device accessible and showing that an animal wants its output.
Scientific commentary
What an Average Giraffe Behaviour Budget Hides
Watching many animals for long enough revealed both a shared concern and individual differences that a herd average could conceal.