Giraffes: Nonverbal Communication

Communication:

Giraffe Communication has proven extremely difficult for ethnologists to study as Giraffes are predominantly a silent mammal and the majority of their communication occurs on a non-verbal level. However many new studies have hypothesised that Giraffes do use more vocal communication than we realise, we just can’t hear it because they communicate over a much lower frequency then the human ear can register. Ethnologists have speculated that giraffes communicate with one another with infrasonic sounds, however further research is needed before the hypothesis can be universally accepted as true. Giraffes can vocalise with one another but they seldom do to our knowledge. Vocal behaviour has a minimal role in giraffe communication

Giraffes have also been known to make whistling, humming and flute like sounds however no one behaviour or reason has been attributed to these sounds. Giraffes with their large eyes have excellent eyesight; giraffes have the largest surface area retina and a longer focal length than any other land mammal. Giraffes monitor social patterns and subtle behavioural changes of other giraffes to gain information about them. Giraffes can communicate a vast knowledge of information through visual cues such as when giraffes are displeased or angry they lower their necks to almost a horizontal position. Giraffes also communicate through scent markings and smells, different from their relative the okapi; giraffes have scent glands on their hooves. Bull giraffes use scents to determine fertility of female giraffes, female giraffes also use scents to locate and track their calves and herd. Also different giraffe herds can communicate with each other through their tracks which each have a distinctive smell due to their scent

Giraffes are diurnally, they spend about half their day browsing, eating all the vegetation insight and giraffes also spend over a quarter of their day walking and or standing. Giraffes spend the reaming time either searching for food, digesting, social interactions, drinking, and courtship, communicating, sleeping, and watching over calves and abnormal behaviours. Young calves and juveniles spend less time looking for food and eating then their parents, young giraffes engage in various playful behaviours either with another calf or a female adult giraffe. Young calves especially can be very playful, jumping, running, nudging, bucking near their mothers, many young calves prefer to try and play with their mothers. Young calves tend not to chase or play with other calves, it isn’t until the calve mature slightly and as they approach becoming juvenile, they become more playful with each other. Young giraffes will often chase, jump, run, kick, nip, mount and play with each other for short periods throughout the day. Female giraffes are very social animals and will often engage in neck rubbing, nuzzling and slowly brushing their faces together. Female giraffe herds exhibit these social behaviours to communicate and strengthen their individual bonds within the herd. Giraffes often interact with several other species of animals regularly that live in the African savannah