{"id":315,"date":"2021-02-10T00:01:50","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T00:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dereklee.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=315"},"modified":"2021-02-10T21:18:08","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T21:18:08","slug":"friends-matter-more-sociable-giraffes-live-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/315\/friends-matter-more-sociable-giraffes-live-longer\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends Matter: More Sociable Giraffes Live Longer"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Adult female giraffes who spend time in larger groups with other familiar females live longer than less sociable individuals. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The effects of sociability on survival outweigh other factors such as environment or human presence, a study of giraffes in Tanzania conducted by the University of Zurich and Penn State has shown.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_316\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-316\" style=\"width: 712px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-316\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger-300x200.jpg?resize=722%2C481&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A group of adult female Masai giraffes.\" width=\"722\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 722px) 100vw, 722px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-316\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group of adult female Masai giraffes. Adult female giraffes who spend time in larger groups with other familiar females live longer than less sociable individuals. The effects of sociability on survival outweigh other factors such as environment or human presence, a study of giraffes in Tanzania conducted by the University of Zurich and Penn State has shown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>An iconic but endangered mega-herbivore<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Giraffes are beloved around the world, but their populations are declining across Africa. They are now vulnerable to extinction. A research team from Penn State and University of Zurich have been studying giraffes in the Tarangire region of Tanzania since 2012, with the goal of learning what helps or hurts giraffes to ensure that people and giraffes can co-exist together.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Gregariousness leads to better survival<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the new study, the team documented the social behaviors of the wild free-ranging giraffes using network analysis algorithms similar to those used by big-data social media platforms. The biologists examined the relative effects of sociability, the natural environment, and human factors on survival of this mega-herbivore. Giraffe group formations are dynamic and change throughout the day, but adult females maintain many specific friendships over the long term. The study showed that adult females that tended to be in groups with more other familiar females\u2014which is called gregariousness\u2014had better survival than more socially isolated individuals. Moreover, their gregariousness was more important than vegetation and nearness to human settlements. \u201cWe concluded that friends matter to female giraffes,\u201d said Monica Bond, lead author of <a href=\"https:\/\/royalsocietypublishing.org\/doi\/10.1098\/rspb.2020.2770\">the study published today in <em>Proceedings of the Royal Society B<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The benefits of many friends<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Aside from poaching, the main causes of adult female giraffe mortality are likely to be disease, stress or malnutrition, all of which are interconnected stressors. \u201cSocial relationships can improve foraging efficiency, and help manage intraspecific competition, predation, disease risk and psychosocial stress,\u201d says University of Zurich professor Barbara K\u00f6nig, senior author of the study. Female giraffes may seek out and join together with an optimal number of other females in order to share and obtain information about the highest-quality food sources. Other benefits to living in larger groups might be lowering stress levels by reducing harassment from males, cooperating in caring for young, or simply experiencing physiological benefits by being around familiar females. The study also finds that females living closer to towns had lower survival rates, possibly due to poaching.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Social habits similar to humans and primates<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Humans and non-human primates like chimpanzees and gorillas also benefit from greater sociability, not by living in small, closed groups with just a few friends but by being more socially connected within a larger community of associates. Having more social ties directly improves our health and longevity. This has been shown often in humans and some primates but this is the first time it was demonstrated to be true in giraffes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Understanding the importance of giraffe social relationships to their survival and fitness helps us to develop better conservation strategies that avoid disrupting those relationships.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Citation:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>M. L. Bond, D. E. Lee, D. R. Farine, A. Ozgul, and B. K\u00f6nig. 2021. Sociability increases survival of adult female giraffes. Proceeding of the Royal Society B. <a href=\"https:\/\/royalsocietypublishing.org\/doi\/10.1098\/rspb.2020.2770\">DOI: 10.1098\/rspb.2020.2770<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Adult female giraffes who spend time in larger groups with other familiar females live longer than less sociable individuals. The effects of sociability on survival outweigh other factors such as environment or human presence, a study of giraffes in Tanzania conducted by the University of Zurich and Penn State has shown. An iconic but endangered &#8230; <a title=\"Friends Matter: More Sociable Giraffes Live Longer\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/315\/friends-matter-more-sociable-giraffes-live-longer\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Friends Matter: More Sociable Giraffes Live Longer\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"featured_media":316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22,2,21,36,3],"tags":[5,6,38,37,7,23],"class_list":["post-315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal","category-ecology","category-giraffe","category-science","category-wildlife-conservation","tag-animals","tag-giraffe","tag-science","tag-social-network","tag-wild-nature-institute","tag-wildlife-conservation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Friends Matter: More Sociable Giraffes Live Longer - Derek Lee<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/315\/friends-matter-more-sociable-giraffes-live-longer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friends Matter: More Sociable Giraffes Live Longer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Adult female giraffes who spend time in larger groups with other familiar females live longer than less sociable individuals. The effects of sociability on survival outweigh other factors such as environment or human presence, a study of giraffes in Tanzania conducted by the University of Zurich and Penn State has shown. An iconic but endangered ... 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Current research investigates Masai Giraffe and other large mammal populations within a fragmented landscape in Tanzania. This work examines how births, deaths, and movements of ungulates are impacted by increasingly fragmented wildlife habitat, and what conservation actions are most effective. He spent 10 years researching the impacts of climate and ocean conditions on survival, reproduction, and population growth rates of marine predators such as northern elephant seals, Common Murres, and Cassin's Auklets at the South Farallon Islands, California. His work was included in a conservation and management plan for seabirds in the California Current. He also studied migration of Black Brant in Humboldt Bay as well as fire ecology of small mammals in California's oak woodlands and California Spotted Owls in the Sierra Nevada.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.wildnatureinstitute.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/author\\\/dereklee\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Friends Matter: More Sociable Giraffes Live Longer - Derek Lee","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/315\/friends-matter-more-sociable-giraffes-live-longer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Friends Matter: More Sociable Giraffes Live Longer","og_description":"Adult female giraffes who spend time in larger groups with other familiar females live longer than less sociable individuals. 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Adult female giraffes who spend time in larger groups with other familiar females live longer than less sociable individuals. The effects of sociability on survival outweigh other factors such as environment or human presence, a study of giraffes in Tanzania conducted by the University of Zurich and Penn State has shown."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/315\/friends-matter-more-sociable-giraffes-live-longer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Friends Matter: More Sociable Giraffes Live Longer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/","name":"Derek Lee","description":"Wild Nature Institute","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#organization","name":"Derek Lee","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/cropped-WNI-Three-Line-Logo.jpg?fit=2303%2C1149&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/cropped-WNI-Three-Line-Logo.jpg?fit=2303%2C1149&ssl=1","width":2303,"height":1149,"caption":"Derek Lee"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#\/schema\/person\/41b42fba55c50c75d88b1a44c47d067c","name":"Derek Lee","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/795f1f3e792a49d904ae6ad8e9f57bb1db46f9b16a8a56beb88756e38c9650ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/795f1f3e792a49d904ae6ad8e9f57bb1db46f9b16a8a56beb88756e38c9650ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/795f1f3e792a49d904ae6ad8e9f57bb1db46f9b16a8a56beb88756e38c9650ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Derek Lee"},"description":"Derek Lee\ufeff, PhD, is a quantitative wildlife biologist with expertise in conservation demography and population ecology. Current research investigates Masai Giraffe and other large mammal populations within a fragmented landscape in Tanzania. This work examines how births, deaths, and movements of ungulates are impacted by increasingly fragmented wildlife habitat, and what conservation actions are most effective. He spent 10 years researching the impacts of climate and ocean conditions on survival, reproduction, and population growth rates of marine predators such as northern elephant seals, Common Murres, and Cassin's Auklets at the South Farallon Islands, California. His work was included in a conservation and management plan for seabirds in the California Current. He also studied migration of Black Brant in Humboldt Bay as well as fire ecology of small mammals in California's oak woodlands and California Spotted Owls in the Sierra Nevada.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.wildnatureinstitute.org"],"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/author\/dereklee\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNOJ-55","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":322,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/","url_meta":{"origin":315,"position":0},"title":"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations","author":"Derek Lee","date":"April 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Female Masai giraffes live in distinct social communities of up to 90 other friends, and although areas used by these \u2018girl gangs\u2019 often overlap, they have very different rates of reproduction and calf survival. This means the girl gang social units may be important to giraffe evolution. These findings were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/54\/its-been-a-fantastic-18-months-for-giraffe-science\/","url_meta":{"origin":315,"position":1},"title":"It&#8217;s Been A Fantastic 18 Months For Giraffe Science","author":"Derek Lee","date":"May 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019ve had a fantastic 18 months of giraffe science publishing at the Wild Nature Institute, with 10 papers out in peer-reviewed scientific journals. These papers are all the product of our Masai Giraffe Conservation Demography Project, which is the largest individual-based study of giraffes in the world. We are grateful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Journal of Mammalogy cover image of Masai giraffe.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/05\/Lee-2016-JoM-cover-pic.png?fit=612%2C792&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/05\/Lee-2016-JoM-cover-pic.png?fit=612%2C792&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/05\/Lee-2016-JoM-cover-pic.png?fit=612%2C792&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":337,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/337\/the-best-way-to-save-giraffes-is-to-support-wildlife-law-enforcement-and-end-poaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":315,"position":2},"title":"The Best Way to Save Giraffes is to Support Wildlife Law Enforcement and End Poaching","author":"Derek Lee","date":"October 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Iconic animals such as giraffes can be flagship species for conservation because of their charisma and popularity among the public. A new study explored the various threats to giraffe populations, and how specific human actions can mediate those threats so that giraffes and people can thrive together in African savannas.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"giraffes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":241,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/241\/baby-giraffes-hide-in-bushes-from-natural-predators-but-have-a-mixed-relationship-with-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":315,"position":3},"title":"Baby Giraffes Hide in Bushes from Natural Predators but Have a Mixed Relationship With People","author":"Derek Lee","date":"August 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"ARUSHA, Tanzania\u2013Masai giraffes are the world\u2019s tallest herbivores and beloved by people around the globe, but were recently classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). New research published in Oecologia showed how food, predators, and people all influence giraffe social behavior. In particular,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"giraffes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":204,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/204\/new-study-reveals-how-human-settlements-and-rainfall-affect-giraffe-space-use\/","url_meta":{"origin":315,"position":4},"title":"New study reveals how human settlements and rainfall affect giraffe space use","author":"Derek Lee","date":"February 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"ARUSHA, Tanzania, 22 February 2019 \u2013 Giraffes are huge browsing animals that live in African savanna ecosystems where they must find everything they need to survive and reproduce in landscapes increasingly impacted by human activities. People are converting natural savannas to towns and farms, and cutting trees for fuelwood and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"giraffes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/02\/giraffesngo_orig.jpg?fit=1024%2C385&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/29\/giraffes-declared-vulnerable-to-extinction-worlds-leading-giraffe-experts-react\/","url_meta":{"origin":315,"position":5},"title":"Giraffes declared vulnerable to extinction, world&#8217;s leading giraffe experts react","author":"Derek Lee","date":"December 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The giraffe is threatened with extinction, according to a new Red List assessment from the IUCN. The world\u2019s giraffe experts are actively working to conserve all subspecies of giraffes. Arusha, TANZANIA, 8 December 2016- The iconic giraffe, one of the world's most recognizable animals and the tallest land mammal, is\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}