Human settlements and rainfall affect giraffe home ranges
Tuesday, February 26, 2019 - 09:10
in Earth & Climate
Giraffes that live close to densely populated towns have larger home ranges than giraffes that live far from towns, according to a new study by an international team of wildlife researchers from the University of Zürich, Penn State, and the Wild Nature Institute. This suggests that the giraffes in human-impacted areas need to travel longer distances—and expend more energy—to obtain critical resources. The researchers found that average rainfall also impacts giraffe home ranges, which are smaller in areas with more rain. The study was published Feb. 22 in the journal Animal Behaviour.