Rothschild's giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) is a subspecies of the giraffe. It is one of the most endangered distinct populations of giraffe, with 1,399 mature individuals estimated in the wild in 2018.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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GraminivoreIn zoology, a graminivore (not to be confused with a granivore) is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass. Graminivory is a form of g...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
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BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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HerdingA herd is a social grouping of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with...
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Rothschild's giraffe is easily distinguishable from other subspecies. The most obvious sign is in the coloring of the coat or pelt. It has large dark patches that usually have complete margins, but may also have sharp edges. The dark spots may also have paler radiating lines or streaks within them. Spotting rarely reaches below the hocks and almost never to the hooves. Another distinguishing feature of Rothschild's giraffe, although harder to spot, is the number of ossicones on the head. This is the only Giraffa phenotype to be born with five ossicones. Two of these are the larger and more obvious ones at the top of the head, which are common to all giraffes. The third ossicone can often be seen in the center of the giraffe's forehead, and the other two are behind each ear. Males are larger than females by a few hundred pounds and their two largest ossicones are usually bald from sparring. They also usually tend to be darker in color than the females.
Rothschild's giraffes are found in Uganda and Kenya. They are possibly regionally extinct from South Sudan and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. They live in savannas, grasslands, and open woodlands.
Rothschild's giraffes live in small herds, with males and females (and their calves) living separately, only mixing for mating. They are tolerant of other animals around them as long as they don't feel threatened. For the most part, they are very friendly, but the males are known to engage in fights for mating. Male giraffes use their necks as weapons in combat, a behavior known as "necking". Necking is used to establish dominance and males that win necking bouts have greater reproductive success. Giraffes usually feed during the first and last hours of the day. Between these hours, they mostly stand and ruminate. Rumination is the dominant activity during the night when it is mostly done lying down. When stressed, giraffes may chew on large branches, stripping them of bark.
Giraffes are herbivores (folivores, lignivores, graminivores, frugivores). They browse on the twigs of trees and also feed on shrubs, grass, and fruit.
Giraffes are polygynous, meaning that males mate with multiple females. Usually, males engage in combats, after which the winner gets right to mate with receptive females whenever and wherever it finds them. Rothschild's giraffes breed at any time of the year. After the gestation period of 14 to 16 months, females typically give birth to a single calf.
The main threats to Rothschild's giraffes include habitat loss and direct killing for bushmeat markets. As of 2018, this subspecies is classified as near threatened. Very few locations are left where Rothschild's giraffes can be seen in the wild, with notable spots being Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya and Murchison Falls National Park in northern Uganda.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Rothschild's giraffe is 1,399 mature individuals. Currently, this subspecies is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are increasing.
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 too tall trees. In addition, when spotting a predator, they can serve as a warning system for other nearby animals.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...