Scientific commentary
Putting the Giraffe Genome Back Into Chromosomes
The difficult part of a genome can be knowing which pieces belong beside one another. A 2019 study checked its reconstruction against giraffe chromosomes.
Giraffe research, explained.Page 18
The questions, fieldwork and discoveries behind giraffe science. Each story explains an original study, what it found and what remains uncertain.
Research stories
154–162 of 179 stories
Scientific commentary
A Giraffe’s High-Pressure Heart Has Less Room Inside
A heart can handle high pressure without being unusually heavy. In giraffes, the arrangement of its muscle helps explain both that strength and a trade-off.
Scientific commentary
A Calf’s Swollen Joints Pointed to a Body-Wide Infection
The most visible signs were in a hind leg, but the disease was distributed through many organs.
Scientific commentary
A Giraffe Calf’s Muscle Disease Exposed a Nutrition Gap
The amount of a vitamin in a ration did not settle how much protection reached the newborn.
Scientific commentary
A Giraffe Calf’s Rotavirus Resembled Cattle Strains
A virus’s genetic relatives can be identified more confidently than the route by which it reached an animal.
Scientific commentary
Male Giraffe Calves Stayed at the Udder Longer
Watching who ended each bout helped researchers investigate a difference between male and female calves.
Scientific commentary
Managing Giraffe Aggression Meant Watching Both Bulls
An intervention associated with less sparring in one giraffe was followed by renewed aggression from his partner.
Scientific commentary
Giraffe Group Changes Looked Different by Day and Night
Continuous recording revealed why daytime observations alone can miss part of a giraffe’s response to a new group.
Scientific commentary
Giving Giraffe Behaviour a Shared Vocabulary
Distinguishing a rub, a sparring blow and a serious fight begins with describing what observers actually see.