Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an iconic species in the fauna of Africa, who play a crucial role in the ecosystem. For the past three decades, giraffe populations have declined by 40% due to anthropogenic effects like, fragmentation, climate change and habitat loss. Understanding giraffes’ ecological impact and their behaviour is important for the conservation work. This study investigates how different environmental factors, like moon phase, precipitation and cloud cover, impact on reticulated giraffes’ (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) movement patterns and if it differs between day and night. The study was conducted in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya, by using camera traps deployed at wildlife corridors to photograph the movement of the giraffes. The weather data were obtained from public databases. 900 passages were registered during daytime and 390 passages during nighttime. The results indicated that all three environmental factors influenced giraffes’ movement patterns. A notable rise during first quarter and a decrease during new moon at night. At daytime giraffes’ movement increased with new moon and decreased during full moon. Low and moderate precipitation increased the giraffes’ movement the most, and high precipitation the least during the 60-days period. Low cloud covers increased movement and high cloud cover decreased movement. The findings demonstrate significant differences between certain environmental factors and the movement patterns of the reticulated giraffes. The goal of this study was to find patterns in the reticulated giraffes movement ecology, with the aim to increase knowledge and the understanding for giraffes and contribute to development of conservations strategies.