Anthropogenic influences on distance traveled and vigilance behavior and stress-related endocrine correlates in free-roaming giraffes

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dc.contributor.author Scheijen, Ciska P.J.
dc.contributor.author Van der Merwe, Sean
dc.contributor.author Ganswindt, Andre
dc.contributor.author Deacon, Francois
dc.date.accessioned 2021-08-24T08:11:58Z
dc.date.available 2021-08-24T08:11:58Z
dc.date.issued 2021-04
dc.description.abstract Giraffes are an important tourist attraction, and human presence to wildlife is increasing. This has an impact on an animal’s behavior and its endocrine correlates. Studies on other species show alterations in movement patterns, vigilance, and stress-related hormone levels in the presence of humans. Limited information is available on how anthropogenic activities alter giraffe’s behavior, social structure, and related endocrine parameters. The purpose of this study was to obtain insight into anthropogenic influences on giraffe’s behavior and adrenal activity. We used GPS devices mounted onto giraffes to compare the distance walked in the presence or absence of human observers. We also conducted behavioral observations to assess their vigilance and collected fecal samples to analyze their fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations. Giraffes walked significantly further distances in the presence of humans, but the cumulative time that observers were present decreased the hourly distance walked with an observer present, suggesting that the giraffes were becoming habituated. The number of observers present significantly increased the percentage of time spent on observing an observer as well as the number of unhabituated individuals present in the herd. The percentage of time spent observing a human observer did not decrease with the increase of habituation. Last, fGCM concentrations increased with human presence but decreased when individuals became habituated to human presence. More research is needed to understand the effect of anthropogenic influences in different scenarios (e.g., tourism, vehicles, hunting, etc.). en_ZA
dc.description.department Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Studies en_ZA
dc.description.department Mammal Research Institute en_ZA
dc.description.department Zoology and Entomology en_ZA
dc.description.librarian pm2021 en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorship Rockwood Conservation Fund NPO, the Univ ref: U106005- CSUR-17-19, the Natural Wildlife Bridge in Texas, Save the Giraffes NGO, and Lydia Alair. en_ZA
dc.description.uri http://www.mdpi.com/journal/animals en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Scheijen, C.P.J.; van der Merwe, S.; Ganswindt, A.; Deacon, F. Anthropogenic Influences on Distance Traveled and Vigilance Behavior and Stress-Related Endocrine Correlates in Free-Roaming Giraffes. Animals 2021, 11, 1239. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051239. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 2076-2615 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.3390/ani11051239
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/81454
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher MDPI en_ZA
dc.rights © 2021 by the authors. Licensee: MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). en_ZA
dc.subject Habituation en_ZA
dc.subject Anthropogenic influences en_ZA
dc.subject Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites en_ZA
dc.subject Stress en_ZA
dc.subject Vigilance en_ZA
dc.subject Distance traveled en_ZA
dc.subject Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) en_ZA
dc.subject.other Veterinary science articles SDG-15 en_ZA
dc.subject.other Veterinary science articles SDG-08 en_ZA
dc.subject.other SDG-15: Life on land
dc.subject.other SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth
dc.subject.other SDG-15: Life on land
dc.title Anthropogenic influences on distance traveled and vigilance behavior and stress-related endocrine correlates in free-roaming giraffes en_ZA
dc.type Article en_ZA


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