A female giraffe has a great Valentine’s Day gift for potential mates: urine.
Distinctive anatomy helps male giraffes get a taste for whether a female is ready to mate, animal behaviorists Lynette and Benjamin Hart report January 19 in Animals. A pheromone-detecting organ in giraffes has a stronger connection to the mouth than the nose, the researchers found. That’s why males scope out which females to mate with by sticking their tongues in a urine stream.
Animals such as male gazelles will lick fresh urine on the ground to track if females are ready to mate. But giraffes’ long necks and heavy heads make bending over to investigate urine on the ground an unstable and vulnerable position, says Lynette Hart, of the University of California, Davis.
The researchers observed giraffes (Giraffa giraffa angolensis) in Etosha National Park in Namibia in 1994, 2002 and 2004. Bull giraffes nudged or kicked the female to ask her to pee. If she was a willing participant, she urinated for a few seconds, while the male took a sip. Then the male curled his lip and inhaled with his mouth, a behavior called a flehmen response, to pull the female’s scent into two openings on the roof of the mouth. From the mouth, the scent travels to the vomeronasal organ, or VNO, which detects pheromones.
The Harts say they never saw a giraffe investigate urine on the ground.
2023-02-14 10:00:00
Original from www.sciencenews.org
Male giraffes are among nature’s most fascinating creatures, often overlooked due to their typically reclusive behavior in certain areas of their natural habitat. Though female giraffes are often on display in zoos and public parks, few people know of the intricacies and complexity of the male mating habits of this majestic beast.
The larger of the two sexes, male giraffes, have several impressive characteristics that are integral in the quest for mates. Their regal coloring of browns, whites and yellows, along with the added camouflage of spots, serves as an attractant to females. In addition, their horns, known as ossicones, offers an impressive display for females in the area.
Male giraffes also have a distinct olfactory system which allows them to detect the presence of another giraffe, usually a female looking for a mate. This is done by detecting hormones in the female’s urine, often referred to as pheromones. The pheromones give the male a distinct signal of a female standoffishness, which alerts him of her availability.
When two male giraffes converge upon a female, they engage in an acrobatic display of neck slapping and wrapping around one another.This aggressive sparring match is referred to as ‘necking’ and serves as a way for the males to determine a superior. After the victor has been decided and the female has agreed, the two adult giraffes will form a bond for a minimum of 5-6 months. After this period, the couple will part ways, though the relationship may remain monogamous if the males do not encounter another female.
Though they reside in the most remote of habitats, male giraffes have evolved and adapted to survive in their environment, which is in large part due to their impressive mating habits. Whether through ossicone display, olfactory recognition or necking matches, the species is able to reproduce and carry on the fascinating existence of the giraffe.