Giraffes hate slopes, and it’s threatening their survival

Turns out, giraffes have a distaste for inclines. The tall, majestic, and gracefully lumbering creatures of Africa’s grasslands aren’t fans of hilly terrain and actively avoid slopes greater than 20 degrees.

These findings, set to be presented at the British Ecological Society’s (BES) Annual Meeting in Liverpool, underline critical implications for giraffe conservation efforts.

Giraffes avoid steep slopes

In a new study, experts monitored the movements of 33 GPS-collared giraffes in South Africa.

The results showed that giraffes avoid steep slopes due to the energy required to navigate them and the risk of falling. Researchers found that giraffes tolerate gradients of up to 12° only when these lead to areas with favorable vegetation.

“We often think of giraffes roaming in large, flat grassland savannas in Africa, but that’s not really their true habitat. There are also rolling hills, deep riverbeds, and high plateaus,” noted Jessica Granweiler, a PhD candidate at the University of Manchester and the study presenter.

“Our study shows that giraffes much prefer flat areas. They will tolerate some steepness to access food, but simply cannot access areas above a 20° gradient. It’s quite shocking when you look at distribution maps.”

Conservation challenges of steep terrain

The findings reveal a stark mismatch between giraffes’ preferred habitats, including flat areas and gentle slopes, and the locations of many protected reserves.

By applying the 20° gradient threshold, the researchers calculated the amount of inaccessible land for giraffes in key African countries. For example, in Namibia and Tanzania, nearly 8,000 km² of habitat, about half the size of Wales, is unusable for giraffes.

Similarly, in Kenya and South Africa, about 4,000 km² of land is inaccessible. Alarmingly, one-third of the countries analyzed had more unsuitable terrain within protected reserves than outside them.

“If a reserve is, say, 200 hectares but has a large mountain in the middle, from a giraffe’s perspective, this reserve is not 200 hectares anymore. We need to start including topography in giraffe conservation planning and habitat assessments, especially for small fenced reserves,” said Granweiler.

Giraffe conservation must address slopes

Current habitat suitability models often focus on factors such as vegetation, predation, and human disturbance – neglecting the role of topography.

This oversight may result in conservation efforts that fail to meet giraffes’ ecological needs. The study highlights the necessity of integrating geographic and physical limitations into habitat assessments.

“Steep and rugged environments are challenging for large-bodied animals, like giraffes. Unfortunately, natural and protected areas are more likely to be placed in such places, which can lead to a mismatch between the landscapes animals ‘want’ to use and the landscapes that we have ‘left’ for them,” noted Professor Susanne Shultz.

“Incorporating geography and physical limitations in habitat assessments can help avoid conserving animals in inappropriate places.”

Analyzing giraffes around slopes

The research repurposed GPS data collected from 2011 to 2023 by Dr. Francois Deacon’s team at the University of the Free State, South Africa.

This dataset included information from 33 giraffes, comprising 10 males and 23 females, across five reserves in South Africa. By combining the GPS data with topographic maps, the researchers identified the slopes giraffes could and couldn’t navigate.

“The more awareness we can bring to giraffe ecology, the more research effort there will be on this species in the future,” said Dr. Francois Deacon.

“The fact that we are still discovering major limitations or drivers of their ecology and behaviour is worrying. But research like ours helps closing this gap in knowledge and will help better management and conservation of giraffes in the future.”

Bigger picture for giraffe conservation

Giraffes inhabit 21 African countries, but their populations have been declining due to habitat loss, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict.

Conservation initiatives are vital for their survival. This study highlights the importance of considering topography in conservation planning to ensure suitable habitats for giraffes.

“Giraffes are tolerant animals and resilient to many things like food availability and human pressures, but this is a scenario where they simply may not be able to adapt due to physiological limits,” Granweiler concluded.

By addressing these challenges, conservationists can create more effective strategies to protect giraffes, their habitats, and the slopes they rely on.

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