Editing Giraffe (section)

===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/>
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