Sparring dynamics and individual laterality in male South African giraffes

Abstract

Sparring by male giraffes has been commonly reported since its first description in 1958 and is believed to play a role in establishing male dominance hierarchies. However, despite being often documented, quantitative investigations of sparring behaviour are currently lacking. Here, we investigate the factors affecting the frequency, duration and intensity of sparring bouts in a population of giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa living on a private fenced reserve in Limpopo, South Africa. We show that sparring bouts were most frequently observed in young adults, and between males that were more evenly matched in size. Sparring bouts between males of similar body size were also characterised by being of high intensity and of short duration. Taken together, these results support the suggestion that sparring functions principally to provide maturing males a means of testing their competitive ability without escalating to full‐scale fights. Additionally, mature bulls intervened on young adults possibly to disable any winner effect achieved by the latter, with the most dominant bull being responsible for the majority of interventions. For the first time, we also show that individuals displayed strong laterality when engaged in sparring: individuals consistently preferred delivering blows from either their left or right side, and these preferences dictated the orientation of sparring bouts (whether head‐to‐head or head‐to‐tail). Lastly, we show that sparring displayed a seasonal peak which coincided with the onset of the wet season and possibly reflected the increased aggregation of males at this time. A more nuanced understanding of how social and environmental factors shape interactions among individuals, such as sparring, will improve our understanding and management of this charismatic animal.

Function of Trunk-Mediated “Greeting” Behaviours between Male African Elephants: Insights from Choice of Partners

“…If considering these tactile and olfactory behaviours as greeting behaviours between males, a suggested function may be that these behaviours are used to initiate and facilitate further association and interaction with partners, e.g., for sparring activity, a behaviour important for testing and developing skills for competitive fighting [61]. Males in many species, including elephants, prefer to spar with age-matched individuals [23,62]. Alternatively, these greeting type behaviours may also be used to assess individuals similar in dominance rank in a safe and ritualised context.…”

Management of intraspecific aggression in two bull giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. rothschildi)

“…Increased aggression levels in giraffes, particularly in those belonging to bachelor groups, have been attributed to the establishment of these hierarchies (Wolf et al, 2018). When sparring, bull giraffes will position themselves side by side, often head-to-head or head-to-tail (lining-up), and proceed to swing their neck, striking their head and ossicones against the body of the sparring partner (Granweiler et al, 2021).…”

Using spot pattern recognition to examine population biology, evolutionary ecology, sociality, and movements of giraffes: a 70-year retrospective

“…Studies of reticulated (VanderWaal et al 2014), Masai (Lavista Ferres et al 2021, and Rothschild's giraffes (Muller et al 2022) also confirmed association patterns were influenced by age and sex class. Other studies examined how giraffe social affiliations were influenced by activity (Muller et al 2018b), humans (Bond et al 2021c), humans and lions (Muller et al 2019), season (Prehn et al 2019), a male's color (Castles et al 2019), and presence of calves in female groups (Saito et al 2020), as well as how associations influence male rutting (Seeber et al 2013), grouping (Bercovitch and Berry 2014), and sparring behaviors (Granweiler et al 2021). A recent review of giraffe social behavior suggested that giraffes display many features of a complex cooperative social system (Muller and Harris 2021).…”