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3 February 2020 Nighttime Suckling Behavior in Captive Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata)
Miho Saito, Naoko Takagi, Masayuki Tanaka, Yumi Yamanashi
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Suckling behaviors are useful to better understand mother–offspring relationships. However, in many species, knowledge about nighttime suckling behavior is sparse. In the present study, we investigated suckling behavior in four calves of the reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) and their mother in the Kyoto City Zoo, Japan, by analyzing video clips of 9614 h. The relation between a calf's age and the mean duration and frequency of suckling were consistent with the results of previous daytime studies: the longest duration (80 ± 4 s) and highest frequency (0.41/h) of suckling occurred when the calves were young, and decreased thereafter. Suckling frequency was lower at night than during the day, probably because the mother spent much of the time resting at night. The mother initiated suckling behavior in offspring until six months of age. Most often, the mother terminated suckling except during the first few weeks after birth. Additionally, we reported that the average weaning period was 448 days (n = 5) and that the last born (sixth) continued to suckle for more than 750 days, which is a rare phenomenon. We believe the present report helps to fill the lack of knowledge about nighttime suckling behavior in giraffe.

© 2020 Zoological Society of Japan
Miho Saito, Naoko Takagi, Masayuki Tanaka, and Yumi Yamanashi "Nighttime Suckling Behavior in Captive Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata)," Zoological Science 37(1), 1-6, (3 February 2020). https://doi.org/10.2108/zs190094
Received: 14 July 2019; Accepted: 1 November 2019; Published: 3 February 2020
KEYWORDS
age
maternal investment
nocturnal
nursing
zoo
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