Giraffes' predators and preys

This article is for those who love to know interesting animal facts and want to know more. Here is answers for question about the predators of Giraffes.

Many people have the false believe that giraffes are often taken down in the wild by various predators. While they do provide quite a meal, they aren’t so easy to get a hold of. They also have very good instincts and can see much further than other animals out there due to their towering height. They have extremely good instincts so they can be long gone before a predator is able to get too close to them.

The only significant predator of the giraffe are lions. Of course they will try to take on other forms of prey first unless they are extremely hungry. They will look for the young and for the weak giraffes too. Even though they can easily outrun these animals there is more to the story than just that.

Also see: baby giraffe

Don’t think for an instant though that giraffes are easy prey. In fact, they are very strong and powerful. If they end up kicking a predator it can be severely injured or killed due to the kick connecting with the jaw or the spine. This is why so many predators won’t attack unless they have a clear shot at a young one or they are desperate for a meal and this is their one chance for it. They can also target pregnant females that are ready to give birth so they can’t move as swiftly.

Baby giraffes need a great deal of rest during the first couple of weeks of life and they do this lying down. That makes them a huge target for a variety of predators including wild dogs, hyenas, leopards, and of course lions. The mothers strive to keep their young close to them but young giraffes are curious by nature and that can cause them to end up being victims. You will find that these predators have to try to get the legs of the giraffes tangled up so that they will fall to the ground. They also try to attack when they are drinking so that their necks are at ground level.

Approximately 75% of all young giraffes don’t survive to adulthood due to becoming the victim of predators. That makes it one of the highest mortality rates among animals out there. If a young giraffe is going to be eaten though it will generally occur when it is very young. These animals seem to develop a very deep instinct early on about predators. They are very tall by the time they have a year old so that makes them less likely to be an easy take down in the eyes of predators.

For the giraffes though all is not peaceful in their natural habitat. The worst predators for them are humans. The local villagers tend to find them a great source of meat when their others are scarce. While they meat isn’t the best tasting there is plenty of it to go around from just one giraffe. They also believe that the tails of them are very lucky so they will keep them.

In some villages those tails are used to create jewelry, collectibles for tourists, and even flyswatters for the huge mosquitoes out there. The hides are spectacular due to their thickness and the design of the different spots that each giraffe has. For many of these animals they become nothing but the victim of a trophy hunt for those that want to say they have killed an exotic animal.

While most areas of Africa make it illegal to harm or to kill a giraffe due to their protective status it occurs on a regular basis. There isn’t enough enforcement to get out there and really make such penalties stick. Villagers are desperate to make money so they will do what they can in order to survive.

For more: tiger facts                         

When and why do dogs howl?

Have you ever wondered an interesting animal facts question: When and why do dogs howl? Let’s see why

By Josh Weiss-Roessler

You’ve probably been here before: you’re leading your dog around the neighborhood on a typical pack walk when suddenly there’s a siren way off in the distance. You barely notice it, but your dog’s ears immediately perk up. As it gets closer and closer (and louder and louder), she becomes more and more agitated or excited. Finally, it rounds the corner, headed your way, and as it nears you and passes by, your pooch lets loose with a glorious howl, head thrown back like she was a wolf out in the desert.

Separation Anxiety Howling
If your neighbors call you and tell you that your dog is howling when you are at work, your dog’s excessive howling might be caused by separation anxiety. Separation anxiety howling only occurs when a dog is left alone or otherwise separated from his owner. This kind of howling is usually accompanied by at least one other symptom of separation anxiety, such as pacing, destruction, elimination,depression or other signs of distress.

Medical Causes
Dogs sometimes howl when they’re hurt or sick. If your dog starts howling or howls more than usual, take him to a veterinarian to rule out illness and injury before doing anything else.
What to Do About Excessive Howling

Howling in Responds to Sounds
If your dog howls in response to some kind of trigger, like another dog howling or a nearby siren, he’ll probably stop when the sound stops. This type of howling usually isn’t excessive-unless, of course, the triggers occur frequently. If they do, you can use desensitization and counterconditioning (DSCC) to help your dog learn to be quiet.

Systematic Desensitization and Counterconditioning
When the problem is rooted in how a dog feels about a particular thing, it sometimes isn’t enough to just teach him a different behavior-like to fetch a toy instead of howling, for example. Instead, it’s most effective to change his motivation and feelings, which are the underlying reasons for the behavior problem in the first place.

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