Scientific commentary
Thirteen Giraffes in a Landscape of Scattered Food
A desert reserve can contain plenty of space but much less accessible food. Following a small population exposed that distinction.
Giraffe research, explained.Page 5
The questions, fieldwork and discoveries behind giraffe science. Each story explains an original study, what it found and what remains uncertain.
Research stories
37–45 of 179 stories
Scientific commentary
Male Giraffes Spar With a Preferred Side
The direction of a neck swing helped explain why two sparring giraffes lined up facing the same way or opposite ways.
Scientific commentary
The Feeding Encounters That Revealed Giraffe Rank
A hierarchy can be visible in the animal that steps aside, even when dramatic fights are rare.
Scientific commentary
Remembering a Giraffe Meal Hidden From View
Closing a lid removed the visible reward. Extending the wait then separated remembering its location from simply following the last movement.
Scientific commentary
Measuring a giraffe’s shape without putting it on scales
A digital body outline can make a visual impression measurable. Its biological meaning still needs testing.
Scientific commentary
What Vision Genes Reveal About Giraffes and Okapis
A small change in a visual pigment may alter the light it absorbs. Establishing what that change means for a giraffe takes several further steps.
Scientific commentary
How Male and Female Giraffes Grow Different Proportions
Male and female calves begin with similar proportions. Their later growth takes different paths, involving the legs and trunk as well as the neck.
Scientific commentary
How a Giraffe Can Have Mixed Ancestry and Be Inbred
Ancestry, genetic diversity and recent family history leave different signals in DNA. One number cannot describe all three.
Scientific commentary
Thorns did not slow giraffe bites in two Tanzanian parks
Counting bites showed that a plant’s visible defences do not translate into the same feeding obstacle for every browser.