Scientists Puzzled by the Unusual Neck of a Giraffe in South Africa

Majestic animals can reach up to 5.5 meters in height. They weigh on average 800 to 1,200 kg for females, and up to 1,800 kg for males. Giraffes feed mainly on acacia leaves, using their long tongue to reach height vegetation.

The social structure of giraffes is flexible, they regroup in small loose herds which frequently change composition. They can live up to 25 years in nature and up to 30 years in captivity.

Giraffes are starting to reproduce around the age of 5. The females give birth to a single small after a 15-month gestation, and the newborns are already almost 2 meters high at birth.

The giraffe observed in Kruger National Park has an impressive deformation of its neck, forming a kind of zigzag. Lynn Scott, travel blogger, photographed the animal and shared images on social networks on July 5. The photos show the motionless giraffe, seeming to move very little, which immediately attracted attention.

Wildlife experts, such as Sara Ferguson of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, examined the images. The latter suggests to Lifescience, that the giraffe could suffer from severe torticollis. Torticolic is a condition that causes abnormal rotation and inclination of the head. It is generally due to various factors such as spinal cord infections, bone fractures or congenital malformations.

In this particular case, experts cannot confirm whether the giraffe has undergone a fracture of the neck without radiography. But they note that the condition is particularly severe. Similar cases have been documented in giraffes in captivity and in nature, but rarely with such gravity.

For example, in 2015, an adult male giraffe with a deformed neck was observed in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, after probably undergoing a fracture of the neck during a fight with a rival.

Observation of this giraffe with a distorted neck offers a unique opportunity for scientists to study the effects of such anomalies on the survival and behavior of giraffes. This could also improve their care and management.

Discoveries from this case could also offer perspectives on how giraffes and other wild animals adapt and survive in the face of severe injuries or anomalies. In the end, this observation highlights the importance of the conservation and protection of wild species, while highlighting the astonishing capacity of animals to overcome significant physical challenges.