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Giraffes have long, elegant necks. You\u2019d expect that these would be perfect for attaching GPS trackers to. But, not so. The collars fall right off when the animals lean down to take a drink. Partners and scientists from Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) are trying out a new collar design to combat this problem.<\/p>\n
GPS collars were secured around the ossicones (the horn-like structures on top of the heads) of 11 reticulated giraffes in Kenya back in June 2017. These are reporting back hourly information with regards to their location on a daily basis. The Friends of the National Zoo\u2019s Conservation Nation program are funding the GPS trackers with the support of donors.<\/p>\n
The study brings together various bodies. Namely, San Diego Zoo Global, SCBI\u2019s Conservation Ecology Center, Senckenberg BiK-F, Smithsonian\u2019s Global Health Program, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya Wildlife Services, Loisaba Conservancy, Giraffe Conservation Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and the Northern Rangelands Trust.<\/p>\n
The researchers are looking for answers to many questions such as what are the biggest threats to giraffe\u2019s survival, where do they regularly go, how far do they travel and more. They\u2019re also looking at the potential causes of the newly emerged giraffe skin disease. They need to know how it\u2019s spread and how the skin of an infected animal compares with that of one that\u2019s not infected.<\/p>\n
Very little is known about giraffe ecology. The team hope to gain an understanding of giraffe movements. They\u2019re looking to find out what their home range sizes are in northern Kenya and how far they tend to move. They\u2019re focusing on whether potential changes in the surrounding environments might block some movement routes. The scientists also want to understand whether giraffe habitats differ during the dry and wet seasons with a view to figuring out how they can best be protected.<\/p>\n
Giraffes haven\u2019t been studied much, although they\u2019re very popular animals. However, this has changed in the past ten years or so. There are the problems with the GPS collars to take into account too. To combat the issue with collars slipping off in the past, head units and ones that were similar to dog harnesses were used. However, these restricted eating and movement and had to be removed.<\/p>\n
Giraffes are in rapid decline. It\u2019s hoped that this study will help save the species from potential extinction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Giraffes have long, elegant necks. You\u2019d expect that these would be perfect for attaching GPS trackers to. But, not so. The collars fall right off when the animals lean down to take a drink. Partners and scientists from Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) are trying out a new collar design to combat this problem. GPS […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_description":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-applications"],"yoast_head":"\n