While giraffes are usually found in groups, the composition of these groups tends to be open and ever-changing. They have few strong social bonds, and aggregations usually change members every few hours. 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. The number of giraffes in a group can range up to 32 individuals.The most stable giraffe groups are those made of mothers and their young,which can last weeks or months. Social cohesion in these groups is maintained by the bonds formed between calves. Mixed-sex groups made of adult females and young males are also known to occur. Sub adult males are particularly social and will engage in play fights. However, as they get older males become more solitary. Giraffes are not territorial, but they have home ranges. Male giraffes occasionally wander far from areas that they normally frequent.
Reproduction is broadly polygamous: a few older males mate with the fertile females. Male giraffes assess female fertility by tasting the female's urine to detect estrus, in a multi-step process known as the flesmen response . Males prefer young adult females over juveniles and older adults.Once an estrous female is detected, the male will attempt to court her. When courting, dominant males will keep subordinate ones at bay. During copulation, the male stands on his hind legs with his head held up and his front legs resting on the female's sides.Although generally quiet and non-vocal, giraffes have been heard to communicate using various sounds. During courtship, males emit loud coughs.Females call their young by bellowing. Calves will emit snorts, bleats, mooing and mewing sounds. Giraffes also snore, hiss, moan and make flute-like sounds, and they communicate over long distances using infra-sound.
Many people have the false believe that giraffes are often taken down in the wild by various predators. While they do provide quite a meal, they aren’t so easy to get a hold of. They also have very good instincts and can see much further than other animals out there due to their towering height. They have extremely good instincts so they can be long gone before a predator is able to get too close to them.
The only significant predator of the giraffe are lions. Of course they will try to take on other forms of prey first unless they are extremely hungry. They will look for the young and for the weak giraffes too. Even though they can easily outrun these animals there is more to the story than just that.Don’t think for an instant though that giraffes are easy prey. In fact, they are very strong and powerful. If they end up kicking a predator it can be severely injured or killed due to the kick connecting with the jaw or the spine. This is why so many predators won’t attack unless they have a clear shot at a young one or they are desperate for a meal and this is their one chance for it. They can also target pregnant females that are ready to give birth so they can’t move as swiftly.
Baby giraffes need a great deal of rest during the first couple of weeks of life and they do this lying down. That makes them a huge target for a variety of predators including wild dogs, hyenas, leopards, and of course lions. The mothers strive to keep their young close to them but young giraffes are curious by nature and that can cause them to end up being victims. You will find that these predators have to try to get the legs of the giraffes tangled up so that they will fall to the ground. They also try to attack when they are drinking so that their necks are at ground level.Approximately 50% of all young giraffes don’t survive to adulthood due to becoming the victim of predators. That makes it one of the highest mortality rates among animals out there. If a young giraffe is going to be eaten though it will generally occur when it is very young. These animals seem to develop a very deep instinct early on about predators. They also are about 6 feet tall by the time they are a year old so that makes them less likely to be an easy take down in the eyes of predators.
Reproduction is broadly polygamous: a few older males mate with the fertile females. Male giraffes assess female fertility by tasting the female's urine to detect estrus, in a multi-step process known as the flesmen response . Males prefer young adult females over juveniles and older adults.Once an estrous female is detected, the male will attempt to court her. When courting, dominant males will keep subordinate ones at bay. During copulation, the male stands on his hind legs with his head held up and his front legs resting on the female's sides.Although generally quiet and non-vocal, giraffes have been heard to communicate using various sounds. During courtship, males emit loud coughs.Females call their young by bellowing. Calves will emit snorts, bleats, mooing and mewing sounds. Giraffes also snore, hiss, moan and make flute-like sounds, and they communicate over long distances using infra-sound.
Many people have the false believe that giraffes are often taken down in the wild by various predators. While they do provide quite a meal, they aren’t so easy to get a hold of. They also have very good instincts and can see much further than other animals out there due to their towering height. They have extremely good instincts so they can be long gone before a predator is able to get too close to them.
The only significant predator of the giraffe are lions. Of course they will try to take on other forms of prey first unless they are extremely hungry. They will look for the young and for the weak giraffes too. Even though they can easily outrun these animals there is more to the story than just that.Don’t think for an instant though that giraffes are easy prey. In fact, they are very strong and powerful. If they end up kicking a predator it can be severely injured or killed due to the kick connecting with the jaw or the spine. This is why so many predators won’t attack unless they have a clear shot at a young one or they are desperate for a meal and this is their one chance for it. They can also target pregnant females that are ready to give birth so they can’t move as swiftly.
Baby giraffes need a great deal of rest during the first couple of weeks of life and they do this lying down. That makes them a huge target for a variety of predators including wild dogs, hyenas, leopards, and of course lions. The mothers strive to keep their young close to them but young giraffes are curious by nature and that can cause them to end up being victims. You will find that these predators have to try to get the legs of the giraffes tangled up so that they will fall to the ground. They also try to attack when they are drinking so that their necks are at ground level.Approximately 50% of all young giraffes don’t survive to adulthood due to becoming the victim of predators. That makes it one of the highest mortality rates among animals out there. If a young giraffe is going to be eaten though it will generally occur when it is very young. These animals seem to develop a very deep instinct early on about predators. They also are about 6 feet tall by the time they are a year old so that makes them less likely to be an easy take down in the eyes of predators.