Editing Giraffe (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==

===Habitat and feeding===
{{multiple image
| direction  =vertical
| image1    =Giraffe feeding, Tanzania.jpg
| caption1  =A [[Masai giraffe]] extending its tongue to feed, in Tanzania.
| image2    =Giraffe in Malawi - 2018 Aug.webm
| caption2  =A giraffe in Malawi eating leaves from a tree
}}
Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and open [[woodland]]s. They prefer areas dominated by [[Acacieae]], ''[[Commiphora]]'', ''[[Combretum]]'' and ''[[Terminalia (plant)|Terminalia]]'' trees over ''[[Brachystegia]]'' which are more densely spaced.<ref name=Kingdon1988/>{{rp|322}} The Angolan giraffe can be found in desert environments.<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Fennessy, J. |year=2004 |title=Ecology of desert-dwelling giraffe ''Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis'' in northwestern Namibia|publisher=[[University of Sydney]]|degree=[[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]]|url=http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/910|access-date=30 January 2012|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120033134/https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/910|url-status=live}}</ref> Giraffes browse on the twigs of trees, preferring those of the subfamily Acacieae and the genera ''Commiphora'' and ''Terminalia'',<ref name=kingdon>{{Cite book|title=The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals|author=Kingdon, J.|publisher=[[Academic Press]] |chapter=Giraffes Giraffidae |pages=339–344 |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-12-408355-4 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/kingdonfieldguid00jona/page/339}}</ref> which are important sources of calcium and protein to sustain the giraffe's growth rate.<ref name="Mitchell20003"/> They also feed on shrubs, grass and fruit.<ref name=Kingdon1988/>{{rp|324}} A giraffe eats around {{cvt|34|kg}} of plant matter daily.<ref name=estes/> When stressed, giraffes may chew on large branches, stripping them of bark.<ref name=Kingdon1988/>{{rp|325}} Giraffes are also recorded to [[Osteophagy|chew old bones]].<ref name=Dagg2014/>{{rp|102}}

During the wet season, food is abundant and giraffes are more spread out, while during the dry season, they gather around the remaining evergreen trees and bushes.<ref name=kingdon/> Mothers tend to feed in open areas, presumably to make it easier to detect predators, although this may reduce their feeding efficiency.<ref name=sexdiff /> As a [[ruminant]], the giraffe first chews its food, then swallows it for processing and then visibly passes the half-digested cud up the neck and back into the mouth to chew again.<ref name=anatomy/>{{rp|78–79}} The giraffe requires less food than many other herbivores because the foliage it eats has more concentrated nutrients and it has a more efficient digestive system.<ref name=kingdon/> The animal's faeces come in the form of small pellets.<ref name="Dagg1971"/> When it has access to water, a giraffe will go no more than three days without drinking.<ref name=estes/>

Giraffes have a great effect on the trees that they feed on, delaying the growth of young trees for some years and giving "waistlines" to particularly tall trees. Feeding is at its highest during the first and last hours of daytime. Between these hours, giraffes mostly stand and ruminate. Rumination is the dominant activity during the night, when it is mostly done lying down.<ref name=estes/>

===Social life===
[[File:Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) females.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photograph of a gathering of four female giraffes|Gathering of female South African giraffes in [[Tswalu Kalahari Reserve]], South Africa. These animals commonly gather in herds.]]
Giraffes usually form groups that vary in size and composition according to ecological, anthropogenic, temporal, and social factors.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Bond|first1=M. L.|last2=Lee|first2=Derek E. |last3=Ozgul |first3=A. |last4=König |first4=B. |date=2019 |title=Fission–fusion dynamics of a megaherbivore are driven by ecological, anthropogenic, temporal, and social factors |journal=[[Oecologia]] |volume=191 |issue=2|pages=335–347 |doi=10.1007/s00442-019-04485-y |pmid=31451928 |bibcode=2019Oecol.191..335B|s2cid=201732871 |url=https://scholarsphere.psu.edu/resources/80d99e21-8a05-4eaf-bb4e-ba8bcddd109d |access-date=22 August 2023|archive-date=22 September 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922074125/https://scholarsphere.psu.edu/resources/80d99e21-8a05-4eaf-bb4e-ba8bcddd109d}}</ref> Traditionally, the composition of these groups had been described as open and ever-changing.<ref name="Manyara">{{Cite journal |author=van der Jeugd, H. P. |author2=Prins, H. H. T. |title=Movements and group structure of giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis'') in Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania |journal=[[Journal of Zoology]] |volume=251 |issue=1 |pages=15–21 |year=2000 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00588.x |url=http://www.resource-ecology.org/publ/2000_Jeugd,Prins_MovementsAndGroupStructureOfGiraffeInLakeManyara.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106025238/http://www.resource-ecology.org/publ/2000_Jeugd,Prins_MovementsAndGroupStructureOfGiraffeInLakeManyara.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> For research purposes, a "group" has been defined as "a collection of individuals that are less than a kilometre apart and moving in the same general direction".<ref name="Pratt 1985">{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/00222938500770471 |author1=Pratt, D. M. |author2=Anderson, V. H. |year=1985 |title=Giraffe social behavior |journal=[[Journal of Natural History]] |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=771–781|bibcode=1985JNatH..19..771P }}</ref> More recent studies have found that giraffes have long-lasting social groups or cliques based on kinship, sex or other factors, and these groups regularly associate with other groups in larger communities or sub-communities within a [[fission–fusion society]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last1=Bond|first1=M. L.|last2=König|first2=B. |last3=Lee |first3=D. E. |last4=Ozgul |first4=A. |last5=Farine |first5=D. R. |title=Proximity to humans affects local social structure in a giraffe metapopulation |journal=[[Journal of Animal Ecology]] |year=2020 |volume=90 |issue=1 |pages=212–221|doi=10.1111/1365-2656.13247 |pmid=32515083 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Bercovitch 2013">{{cite journal|author1=Bercovitch, F. B. |author2=Berry, P. S. M. |year=2013|title=Herd composition, kinship and fission–fusion social dynamics among wild giraffe |journal=[[African Journal of Ecology]] |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=206–216 |doi=10.1111/aje.12024 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2013AfJEc..51..206B }}</ref><ref name=Carter>{{cite journal|author1=Carter, K. D. |author2=Seddon, J. M. |author3=Frèreb, C. H. |author4=Carter, J. K. |year=2013|title=Fission–fusion dynamics in wild giraffes may be driven by kinship, spatial overlap and individual social preferences |journal=[[Animal Behaviour (journal)|Animal Behaviour]]|volume=85|issue=2|pages=385–394 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.11.011 |s2cid=53176817}}</ref><ref name=VanderWaal>{{cite journal|author1=VanderWaal, K. L. |author2=Wang, H. |author3=McCowan, B. |author4=Fushing, H. |author5=Isbell, L. A. |year=2014|title=Multilevel social organization and space use in reticulated giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis'') |journal=[[Behavioral Ecology (journal)|Behavioral Ecology]] |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=17–26 |doi=10.1093/beheco/art061|doi-access=}}</ref> Proximity to humans can disrupt social arrangements.<ref name=":7" /> Masai giraffes in Tanzania sort themselves into different subpopulations of 60–90 adult females with overlapping ranges, each of which differ in reproductive rates and calf mortality.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=Bond |first1=M. L. |last2=König |first2=B. |last3=Ozgul |first3=A. |last4=Farine |first4=D. R. |last5=Lee |first5=D. E. |title=Socially defined subpopulations reveal demographic variation in a Giraffe metapopulation |journal=[[The Journal of Wildlife Management]] |year=2021 |volume=85 |issue=5 |pages=920–931 |doi=10.1002/jwmg.22044 |bibcode=2021JWMan..85..920B |s2cid=233600744 |url=http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:352-2-127dcuwx9z4bj0 |access-date=27 January 2024 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308221559/https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.22044 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Biological dispersal|Dispersal]] is male biased, and can include spatial and/or social dispersal.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bond |first1=M. L. |last2=Lee |first2=D. E. |last3=Ozgul |first3=A. |last4=Farine |first4=D. R. |last5=König |first5=B. |date=2021 |title=Leaving by staying: Social dispersal in giraffes |journal=Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=90 |issue=12 |pages=2755–2766 |doi=10.1111/1365-2656.13582  |pmc=9291750|bibcode=2021JAnEc..90.2755B }}</ref> Adult female subpopulations are connected by males into super communities of around 300 animals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lavista Ferres |first1=J. M. |last2=Lee |first2=D. E. |last3=Nasir |first3=Md. |last4=Chen |first4=Y.-C. |last5=Bijral |first5=A. S. |last6=Bercovitch |first6=F. B. |last7=Bond |first7=M. L. |date=2021 |title=Social connectedness and movements among communities of giraffes vary by sex and age class |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=180 |pages=315–328 |s2cid=237949827 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.08.008|url=https://scholarsphere.psu.edu/resources/4e92c3e0-e2f6-47b6-8a25-d5c78210af75 }}</ref>

{{listen |filename=Giraffe Hum.oga |title=Giraffe hum |description=Giraffe hum, [[ogg]]/[[Vorbis]] format. |format=Vorbis |filename2=Giraffe snort.oga |title2=Giraffe snort |description2=Giraffe snort ogg/Vorbis format. |format2=Vorbis |filename3=Giraffe grunt.oga |title3=Giraffe grunt |description3=Giraffe grunt ogg/Vorbis format. |format3=Vorbis |filename4= Giraffe bursts.oga |title4=Giraffe bursts |description4=Giraffe bursts ogg/Vorbis format |format4=Vorbis}}
The number of giraffes in a group can range from one up to 66 individuals.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=VanderWaal/> Giraffe groups tend to be sex-segregated<ref name=VanderWaal/> although mixed-sex groups made of adult females and young males also occur.<ref name="Pratt 1985" /> Female groups may be [[matrilineally]] related.<ref name=VanderWaal/> Generally, females are more selective than males when deciding which individuals of the same sex they associate with.<ref name=Carter/> Particularly stable giraffe groups are those made of mothers and their young,<ref name="Pratt 1985" /> which can last weeks or months.<ref name="Leuthold 1979" /> Young males also form groups and will engage in playfights. However, as they get older, males become more solitary but may also associate in pairs or with female groups.<ref name=VanderWaal/><ref name="Leuthold 1979" /> Giraffes are not [[Territory (animal)|territorial]],<ref name="Dagg1971" /> but they have [[home range]]s that vary according to rainfall and proximity to human settlements.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Knüsel |first1=M. |last2=Lee |first2=D. |last3=König |first3=B. |last4=Bond |first4=M. |date=2019 |title=Correlates of home range sizes of giraffes, ''Giraffa camelopardalis'' |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.01.017 |journal=[[Animal Behaviour (journal)|Animal Behaviour]] |volume=149 |pages=143–151 |s2cid=72332291 |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/171320/2/ZORA_Knuesel_et_al_2019_Correlates_of_home_range_size_of_giraffes.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210212658/https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/171320/2/ZORA_Knuesel_et_al_2019_Correlates_of_home_range_size_of_giraffes.pdf |archive-date=10 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Male giraffes occasionally roam far from areas that they normally frequent.<ref name=Kingdon1988/>{{rp|329}}

Early biologists suggested giraffes were mute and unable to create enough air flow to vibrate their [[vocal fold]]s.<ref name=Kasozi/> This has been proved to the contrary; they have been recorded to [[Animal communication|communicate]] using snorts, sneezes, coughs, snores, hisses, bursts, moans, grunts, growls and flute-like sounds.<ref name=estes/><ref name=Kasozi>{{cite journal|last1=Kasozi|first1=H.|last2=Montgomery|first2=R. A. |year=2018|title=How do giraffes locate one another? A review of visual, auditory, and olfactory communication among giraffes |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=306|issue=3|pages=139–146|doi=10.1111/jzo.12604|doi-access=free}}</ref> During courtship, males emit loud coughs. Females call their young by bellowing. Calves will emit bleats, mooing and mewing sounds.<ref name=estes/> Snorting and hissing is associated with vigilance.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Volodina|first1=Elena V.|last2=Volodin|first2=Ilya A.|last3=Chelysheva|first3=Elena V.|last4=Frey|first4=Roland|year=2018|title=Hiss and snort call types of wild-living giraffes ''Giraffa camelopardalis'': acoustic structure and context|journal=[[BMC Research Notes]]|volume=11|issue=12|page=12|doi=10.1186/s13104-017-3103-x|pmid=29316966|pmc=5761111 |doi-access=free}}</ref> During nighttime, giraffes appear to [[humming|hum]] to each other.<ref name="hum">{{cite journal|author1=Baotic, A. |author2=Sicks, F. |author3=Stoeger, A. S. |year=2015|title=Nocturnal "humming" vocalizations: adding a piece to the puzzle of giraffe vocal communication |journal=BMC Research Notes |volume=8 |page=425 |doi=10.1186/s13104-015-1394-3 |pmc=4565008 |pmid=26353836 |doi-access=free}}</ref> There is some evidence that giraffes use [[Helmholtz resonance]] to create [[infrasound]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Von Muggenthaler|first1=E. |year=2013|title=Giraffe Helmholtz resonance |journal=Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics |volume=19|issue=1|page=010012|doi=10.1121/1.4800658|doi-access=free}}</ref> They also communicate with body language. [[Dominance hierarchy|Dominant]] males display to other males with an erect posture; holding the chin and head up while walking stiffly and displaying their side. The less dominant show submissiveness by dropping the head and ears, lowering the chin and fleeing.<ref name=estes/>

===Reproduction and parental care===
[[File:Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis (mating).jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Photograph of giraffes mating|Angolan giraffes mating in Namibia]]
Reproduction in giraffes is broadly [[Animal sexual behaviour#Polygamy|polygamous]]: a few older males mate with the fertile females.<ref name="Pratt 1985"/> Females can reproduce throughout the year and experience [[oestrus]] cycling approximately every 15 days.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last1=del Castillo|first1=S. M.|last2=Bashaw|first2=M. J.|last3=Patton|first3=M. L. |last4=Rieches|first4=R. R.|last5=Bercovitch|first5=F. B.|date=2005 |title=Fecal steroid analysis of female giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis'') reproductive condition and the impact of endocrine status on daily time budgets |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15804514/|journal=[[General and Comparative Endocrinology]] |volume=141|issue=3|pages=271–281 |doi=10.1016/j.ygcen.2005.01.011 |pmid=15804514|access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525182409/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15804514/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bercovitch|first1=F. B.|last2=Bashaw|first2=M. J.|last3=del Castillo|first3=S. M.|date=2006 |title=Sociosexual behavior, male mating tactics, and the reproductive cycle of giraffe ''Giraffa camelopardalis'' |journal=[[Hormones and Behavior]] |volume=50 |issue=2 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X06000900 |pages=314–321 |doi=10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.04.004 |pmid=16765955 |s2cid=45843281}}</ref> Female giraffes in oestrus are dispersed over space and time, so reproductive adult males adopt a strategy of roaming among female groups to seek mating opportunities, with periodic hormone-induced rutting behaviour approximately every two weeks.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Seeber|first1=P. A. |last2=Duncan|first2=P. |last3=Fritz|first3=H. |last4=Ganswindt |first4=A. |date=2013 |title=Androgen changes and flexible rutting behaviour in male giraffes |url= |journal=[[Biology Letters]] |volume=9 |issue=5 |page=20130396 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2013.0396 |pmc=3971675 |pmid=23925833}}</ref> Males prefer young adult females over juveniles and older adults.<ref name="Pratt 1985"/>

Male giraffes assess female fertility by tasting the female's urine to detect oestrus, in a multi-step process known as the [[flehmen response]].<ref name="Pratt 1985"/><ref name="Leuthold 1979">{{Cite journal|author=Leuthold, B. M.|year=1979|title=Social organization and behaviour of giraffe in Tsavo East National Park|journal=African Journal of Ecology |volume=17|issue=1|pages=19–34 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2028.1979.tb00453.x|bibcode=1979AfJEc..17...19L }}</ref> Once an oestrous female is detected, the male will attempt to court her. When courting, dominant males will keep subordinate ones at bay.<ref name="Leuthold 1979"/> A courting male may lick a female's tail, lay his head and neck on her body or nudge her with his ossicones. During copulation, the male stands on his hind legs with his head held up and his front legs resting on the female's sides.<ref name=estes/>

Giraffe [[pregnancy (mammals)|gestation]] lasts 400–460 days, after which a single calf is normally born, although twins occur on rare occasions.<ref name=":8" /> The mother gives birth standing up. The calf emerges head and front legs first, having broken through the [[fetal membrane]]s, and falls to the ground, severing the [[umbilical cord]].<ref name="Dagg1971"/> A newborn giraffe is {{cvt|1.7|-|2|m |sigfig=2}} tall.<ref name=Nowak1999/> Within a few hours of birth, the calf can run around and is almost indistinguishable from a one-week-old. However, for the first one to three weeks, it spends most of its time hiding,<ref name="Langman 1977">{{Cite journal |author=Langman, V. A. |year=1977 |title=Cow-calf relationships in giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa'') |journal=Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=264–286 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.1977.tb00074.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1977.tb00074.x |access-date=12 January 2020 |archive-date=12 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112100644/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1977.tb00074.x |url-status=dead }}</ref> its coat pattern providing camouflage. The ossicones, which have lain flat in the womb, raise up in a few days.<ref name=estes/>
[[File:Angolan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis) female with young 2 months.jpg|thumb|alt=A female giraffe with her calf|Female Angolan giraffe with calf]]
Mothers with calves will gather in nursery herds, moving or browsing together. Mothers in such a group may sometimes leave their calves with one female while they forage and drink elsewhere. This is known as a "[[Crèche (zoology)|calving pool]]".<ref name="Langman 1977"/> Calves are at risk of predation, and a mother giraffe will stand over them and kick at an approaching predator.<ref name=estes/> Females watching calving pools will only alert their own young if they detect a disturbance, although the others will take notice and follow.<ref name="Langman 1977"/> Allo-sucking, where a calf will suckle a female other than its mother, has been recorded in both wild and captive giraffes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Saito|first1=M. |last2=Idani|first2=G. |year=2018|title=Suckling and allosuckling behavior in wild giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi'') |journal=[[Mammalian Biology]]|volume=93|pages=1–4 |doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2018.07.005 |bibcode=2018MamBi..93....1S |s2cid=91472891}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gloneková |first1=M. |last2=Brandlová |first2=K. |last3=Pluháček |first3=J. |year=2021 |title=Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=7024 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-86499-2 |pmid=33782483 |pmc=8007720|bibcode=2021NatSR..11.7024G}}</ref> Calves first ruminate at four to six months and stop [[lactation|nursing]] at six to eight months. Young may not reach independence until they are 14 months old.<ref name=Dagg2014/>{{rp|49}} Females are able to reproduce at four years of age,<ref name=estes/> while [[spermatogenesis]] in males begins at three to four years of age.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hall-Martin, A. J. |author2=Skinner, J. D. |author3=Hopkins, B. J. |year=1978 |title=The development of the reproductive organs of the male giraffe, ''Giraffa camelopardalis'' |url=http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/52/1/1.full.pdf |journal=[[Journal of Reproduction and Fertility]] |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1530/jrf.0.0520001 |pmid=621681 |doi-access=free |access-date=12 June 2017 |archive-date=19 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719113129/http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/52/1/1.full.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Males must wait until they are at least seven years old to gain the opportunity to mate.<ref name=estes/>
{{Clear}}

===Necking===
[[File:Giraffe Ithala KZN South Africa Luca Galuzzi 2004.JPG|thumb|right|alt=Photograph of two male giraffes necking to establish dominance|Here, male South African giraffes engage in low intensity necking to establish dominance, in [[Ithala Game Reserve]], [[KwaZulu-Natal|Kwa-Zulu-Natal]], South Africa.]]
Male giraffes use their necks as [[weapon (biology)|weapons]] in combat, a behaviour known as "necking". Necking is used to establish dominance, and males that win necking bouts have greater [[reproductive success]].<ref name=sim1996/> This behaviour occurs at low or high intensity. In low-intensity necking, the combatants rub and lean on each other. The male that can keep itself more upright wins the bout. In high-intensity necking, the combatants will spread their front legs and swing their necks at each other, attempting to land blows with their ossicones. The contestants will try to dodge each other's blows and then prepare to counter. The power of a blow depends on the weight of the skull and the arc of the swing.<ref name=estes/> A necking duel can last more than half an hour, depending on how well matched the combatants are.<ref name=Kingdon1988/>{{rp|331}} Although most fights do not lead to serious injury, there have been records of broken jaws, broken necks, and even deaths.<ref name=sim1996/>

After a duel, it is common for two male giraffes to caress and court each other. Such interactions between males have been found to be more frequent than heterosexual coupling.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Coe, M. J.|year=1967|title='Necking' behavior in the giraffe |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=151|issue=2|pages=313–21|doi= 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1967.tb02117.x}}</ref> In one study, up to 94 percent of observed mounting incidents took place between males. The proportion of [[Homosexual behavior in animals|same-sex activities]] varied from 30 to 75 percent. Only one percent of same-sex mounting incidents occurred between females.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Bagemihl, B. |year=1999|title=Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity|publisher=St. Martin's Press |pages=391–393 |isbn=978-0-312-19239-6|url=https://archive.org/details/biologicalexuber00bage/page/391}}</ref>

===Mortality and health===
[[File:Lioness with giraffe kill, jackal lurking, kenya, august 9th 2012.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of a lioness with at an adult giraffe kill|[[Lion]]ess seen with an adult [[Masai giraffe]] kill]]
Giraffes have high adult survival probability,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.09721-9|title=Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences|last1=Lee|first1=D. E.|last2=Strauss|first2=M. K. L. |date=2016 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=9780124095489}}</ref> and an unusually long lifespan compared to other ruminants, up to 38 years.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Müller, D.W. |author2=Zerbe, P. |author3=Codron, D. |author4=Clauss, M. |author5=Hatt, J.M. |s2cid=10687135 |year=2011 |title=A long life among ruminants: giraffids and other special cases|journal=Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde |volume=153 |issue=11 |pages=515–519 |pmid=22045457 |doi=10.1024/0036-7281/a000263}}</ref> Adult female survival is significantly correlated with the number of social associations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bond|first1=M. L.|last2=Lee|first2=D. E.|last3=Farine|first3=D. R. |last4=Ozgul |first4=A. |last5=König|first5=B. |date=2021 |title=Sociability increases survival of adult female giraffes |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=288 |issue=1944 |pages=20202770 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2020.2770 |pmid=33563118 |pmc=7893237 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Because of their size, eyesight and powerful kicks, adult giraffes are mostly safe from predation,<ref name=estes/> with [[lion]]s being their only major threats.<ref name=Dagg2014/>{{rp|55}} Calves are much more vulnerable than adults and are also preyed on by [[leopard]]s, [[spotted hyena]]s and [[African wild dog|wild dogs]].<ref name="Prothero 2003"/> A quarter to a half of giraffe calves reach adulthood.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee|first1=D. E.|last2=Bond|first2=M. L. |last3=Kissui |first3=B. M. |last4=Kiwango|first4=Y. A. |last5=Bolger|first5=T. |date=2016 |title=Spatial variation in giraffe demography: a test of 2 paradigms |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |pages=1015–1025 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyw086 |volume=97 |issue=4 |s2cid=87117946 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Calf survival varies according to the season of birth, with calves born during the [[dry season]] having higher survival rates.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=D. E. |last2=Bond|first2=M. L. |last3=Bolger|first3=D. T. |date=2017 |title=Season of birth affects juvenile survival of giraffe |journal=[[Population Ecology]] |volume=59 |issue=1|pages=45–54 |doi=10.1007/s10144-017-0571-8 |bibcode=2017PopEc..59...45L |s2cid=7611046 |url-status=live |access-date=22 August 2023 |url=https://scholarsphere.psu.edu/resources/d7aaa4fd-9365-431c-8a9c-824e1f54d185|archive-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922074127/https://scholarsphere.psu.edu/resources/d7aaa4fd-9365-431c-8a9c-824e1f54d185}}</ref>

The local, seasonal presence of large herds of migratory [[wildebeest]]s and [[zebra]]s reduces predation pressure on giraffe calves and increases their survival probability.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=D. E.|last2=Kissui|first2=B. M. |last3=Kiwango|first3=Y. A. |last4=Bond |first4=M. L.|year=2016|title=Migratory herds of wildebeests and zebras indirectly affect calf survival of giraffes |journal=[[Ecology and Evolution]] |volume=6 |issue=23 |pages=8402–8411 |doi=10.1002/ece3.2561 |pmid=28031792 |pmc=5167056|bibcode=2016EcoEv...6.8402L }}</ref> In turn, it has been suggested that other ungulates may benefit from associating with giraffes, as their height allows them to spot predators from further away. Zebras were found to assess predation risk by watching giraffes and spend less time looking around when giraffes are present.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Schmitt, M. H. |author2=Stears, K.|author3=Shrader, A. M. |year=2016 |title=Zebra reduce predation risk in mixed-species herds by eavesdropping on cues from giraffe |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=27 |issue=4|pages=1073–1077 |doi=10.1093/beheco/arw015 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
[[File:Giraffe Oxpeckers Lupande Zambia Jul23 A7R 06194.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Red-billed oxpeckers on a giraffe, Zambia]]
Some parasites feed on giraffes. They are often [[host (biology)|hosts]] for [[tick]]s, especially in the area around the genitals, which have thinner skin than other areas. Tick species that commonly feed on giraffes are those of genera ''[[Hyalomma]]'', ''[[Amblyomma]]'' and ''[[Rhipicephalus]]''. [[Red-billed Oxpecker|Red-billed]] and [[yellow-billed oxpecker]]s clean giraffes of ticks and alert them to danger. Giraffes host numerous species of internal parasites and are susceptible to various diseases. They were victims of the (now eradicated) viral illness [[rinderpest]].<ref name=Dagg1971/> Giraffes can also suffer from a skin disorder, which comes in the form of wrinkles, [[Cutaneous condition#Lesions|lesions]] or raw [[skin fissure|fissures]]. As much as 79% of giraffes have symptoms of the disease in [[Ruaha National Park]], but it did not cause mortality in [[Tarangire National Park|Tarangire]] and is less prevalent in areas with fertile soils.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee|first1=D. E.|last2=Bond|first2=M. L.|date=2016 |title=The occurrence and prevalence of Giraffe skin disease in protected areas of northern Tanzania |journal=[[Journal of Wildlife Diseases]] |volume=52|issue=3|pages=753–755 |doi=10.7589/2015-09-247 |pmid=27310168|s2cid=10736316}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bond|first1=M. L. |last2=Strauss |first2=M. K. L. |last3=Lee|first3=D. E.|date=2016 |title=Soil Correlates and Mortality from Giraffe Skin Disease in Tanzania |journal=Journal of Wildlife Diseases |doi=10.7589/2016-02-047|pmid=27529292 |volume=52|issue=4|pages=953–958 |s2cid=46776142}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Muneza |first1=A. B. |last2=Montgomery|first2=R. A.|last3=Fennessy|first3=J. T.|last4=Dickman|first4=A. J.|last5=Roloff|first5=G. J. |last6=Macdonald |first6=D. W.|date=2016 |title=Regional variation of the manifestation, prevalence, and severity of giraffe skin disease: A review of an emerging disease in wild and captive giraffe populations |journal=[[Biological Conservation]] |volume=198|pages=145–156 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.014|bibcode=2016BCons.198..145M }}</ref>
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