Daytime mother–calf relationships in reticulated giraffes (Giraffa cameloparadalis reticulate) at the Kyoto City Zoo

Abstract

The present study quantitatively assesses the relationships between a reticulated giraffe mother and her first- and second-born calves during the first 22 months of the older calf's and the first 12 months of the younger calf's life at the Kyoto City Zoo, Japan. The mother permitted her calves to suckle at over 70% of their suckling attempts in the first month after their births, and the calves ceased suckling spontaneously in 65 to 70% of the suckling bouts. From the second month on, she showed a clear tendency to reject the calves' suckling attempts and terminated almost all of their suckling bouts, which resulted in approximately 60 sec or less of suckling duration per bout. The frequency of proximity between the mother and her calves remained at 20 to 30% throughout the first year, with no apparent developmental changes being evident. The mother was mainly responsible for terminating proximity by walking away from her calves throughout their first year after birth, while both calves were mainly responsible for attempting proximity by approaching their mother after reaching 2 months of age. Our study also showed that the giraffe mother became pregnant again while nursing her calves and ceased lactation (i.e., weaned the calves) before the fetus's growth started accelerating.

Sleep‐related behaviors in zoo‐housed giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata): Basic characteristics and effects of season and parturition

“…The indoor enclosure contained no artificial light but had several windows, allowing the sun or moon to affect the indoor brightness level. Hay or sand and gravel were scattered on the concrete floor as a substrate and other environmental enrichment items were used in both the indoor and outdoor enclosures, including devices to enable them to scratch themselves and feeding enrichment devices to facilitate browsing behaviors (see Nakamichi, Murata, Eto, Takagi, & Yamada, for further information regarding the care and husbandry of these giraffes).…”

Giraffe diurnal recumbent behavior and habitat utilization in Katavi National Park, Tanzania

“…A recumbent posture may be uncomfortable for females during the mid/late stages of pregnancy, as has been observed in elephants ( Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus : Schiffmann et al ., 2018) and captive giraffe (Kristal & Noonan, 1979; Takagi et al ., 2019). Unlike most large mammals, female giraffe spend much of adulthood pregnant, as they are capable of conceiving while lactating (del Castillo et al ., 2005; Deacon, Nel & Bercovitch, 2015; Nakamichi et al ., 2015). It is therefore possible that most females in our sample were pregnant.…”

Daytime spatial relationships in a family group of black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis at the Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park, Japan

“…We observed the Asa Zoo family group of black rhinoceros for 4 years and 4 months, during which time one female reared two consecutive calves and showed tolerance of her offspring's nursing needs (Nakamichi & Saito, 2022). Here, we report changes in spatial relationships among the group members over time, as interindividual proximity is known to be fundamental to intimate social relationships in many species (e.g., giraffes, Giraffa cameloparadalis, Bashaw et al, 2007;Nakamichi et al, 2015;tigers Panthera tigris, Miller & Kuhar, 2008;gorilla Gorilla gorilla, Nakamichi et al, 2014). (approximately 1100 m 2 , Figure 1) between 08:00 and 09:00, she remained there with one or two older offspring and an adult male, the sire of all the offspring, until returning indoors for the night between 16:00 and 16:30.…”