COSMOS MAGAZINE

Giraffes really struggle with slopes

In a perhaps unsurprising turn of events new research has found that giraffes, which aren’t known for their grace, prefer to remain on flatter ground.

“Steep and rugged environments are challenging for large-bodied animals, like giraffes,” says Susanne Shultz, also from the University of Manchester.

“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.

“If a reserve is 200 hectares but has a large mountain in the middle, from a giraffe’s perspective, this reserve is not 200 hectares anymore”