Snapshot Serengeti Talk

White Headed Giraffe

  • eleys by eleys

    So there is a young male giraffe with a white head and I found him hanging around the same camera a lot !

    snowey

    Not just a strange shadow, you can see more shots of him in my profile's collection "white giraffe".

    I have two questions:

    1. Is it frequent to have a pale/melanistic limb in giraffes ?

    2. Are giraffes territorial animals ?

    Bonus: is he really a young male? That's just my personal guess.

    Posted

  • davidbygott by davidbygott moderator

    Most giraffes have whitish or pale background color on face and throat, though this one has a lighter face than most.

    1. I wouldn't say that this one has a pale limb. The pale 'socks' are typical.
    2. Giraffes are not territorial, nor do they have a herd structure, however they often form informal groups. The giraffes in an area all know each other and males work out a dominance hierarchy through bouts of 'neck-wrestling', such that subordinate males will get out of the way of a high-ranker when they see him coming.
      If the full-body pic of him with head up is the same giraffe, I wouldn't call him young. Look how thick the base of his neck is. That's a sign of a mature male; young males are skinnier.

    Posted

  • eleys by eleys

    Thanks a lot !

    Posted