{"id":322,"date":"2021-04-08T19:52:57","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T19:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dereklee.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=322"},"modified":"2021-04-08T19:52:57","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T19:52:57","slug":"giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/","title":{"rendered":"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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. <a href=\"http:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/jwmg.22044\">These findings were published this week in the <em>Journal of Wildlife Management<\/em><\/a> by a team of scientists from Penn State University and University of Zurich as part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wildnatureinstitute.org\/giraffe.html\">the largest giraffe study in the world<\/a>. \u201cWe used social network analysis of hundreds of females and discovered this girl gang social organization from the giraffe\u2019s own preference and avoidance behaviors,\u201d said Derek Lee, associate research professor at Penn State and senior author of the study. \u201cGang membership was pretty tight, and even though members of different girl gangs often spent time in the same areas, members of different communities rarely interacted with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The scientists further found that calf survival and reproductive rates were different among these social communities, even when communities\u2019 home ranges overlapped in space and therefore shared similar environmental conditions. \u201cThis shows that population structure can arise from social behavior rather than discrete space use,\u201d noted Monica Bond, lead author and research associate at the University of Zurich. \u201cThese social subpopulations have different survival and reproductive rates, so some might have greater competitive abilities than others, like being able to dominate the better-quality food, or there might be cultural differences such as having better strategies for protecting their calves from predators.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Each giraffe social community exhibited different social characteristics, like how strong the relationships were among the community members. There was also a gradient in environmental characteristics in which the giraffe communities lived: the Tarangire region of northern Tanzania where the study occurred includes two national parks, a livestock and ecotourism ranch, and unprotected lands inhabited by traditional cattle ranchers, as well as several densely populated towns surrounded by agricultural lands. The scientists wondered how the environmental or social conditions experienced by the giraffes might influence their survival and reproduction. \u201cSurvival and reproduction together determine whether a wildlife population (or subpopulation like a specific girl gang) increases or decreases and is therefore absolutely critical for conservation,\u201d said Lee.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_323\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-323\" style=\"width: 319px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Demes4.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-323 \" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Demes4-219x300.jpg?resize=329%2C450&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"map of giraffe social communities\" width=\"329\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Demes4.jpg?resize=219%2C300&amp;ssl=1 219w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Demes4.jpg?w=659&amp;ssl=1 659w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 329px) 100vw, 329px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-323\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adult female Masai giraffe social communities in the Tarangire Ecosystem, Tanzania. Colored dots are observed locations, colored by community.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The team calculated the survival rates of more than 1,400 adult females and calves, and the annual number of calves per female, and examined if there were differences among the social communities. They then investigated if the differences were explained by social factors like the strength of relationships, or by features of the environment, such as how close to people the giraffes roamed, the fertility of the soils, or the kind of vegetation in their ranges.<\/p>\n<p>Giraffe calf survival was higher in social communities that had less area of dense bushlands in their ranges, possibly because lions prefer to hunt in such thickets where they can stalk their prey unseen. \u201cWe also found that calf survival and reproductive rates were higher in the social communities that spent more time <em>outside<\/em> of the national parks,\u201d said Bond, probably also because there are fewer natural predators like lions and hyenas near where people live. Some areas outside the parks also had more fertile volcanic soils and therefore possibly more nutritious food than on other soil types.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe good news for conservation is that giraffes can survive and raise their offspring in areas close to people,\u201d Lee pointed out. \u201cWe can help giraffes to thrive by giving them enough living space in the savanna\u2014both inside and outside of national parks\u2014and by taking care not to disturb them and disrupt their social relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Reference:<\/p>\n<p>Bond, M.L., K\u00f6nig, B., Ozgul, A., Farine, D.R. and Lee, D.E. (2021), Socially Defined Subpopulations Reveal Demographic Variation in a Giraffe Metapopulation. Journal of Wildlife Management. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/jwmg.22044\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/jwmg.22044<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 published this week in the &#8230; <a title=\"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"featured_media":324,"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":[22,2,21,3],"tags":[5,6,38,37,7,23],"class_list":["post-322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal","category-ecology","category-giraffe","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>Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations - 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\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 published this week in the ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Derek Lee\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-08T19:52:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"908\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"956\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Derek Lee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Derek Lee\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Derek Lee\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/41b42fba55c50c75d88b1a44c47d067c\"},\"headline\":\"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-08T19:52:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":667,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"animals\",\"giraffe\",\"science\",\"social network\",\"wild nature institute\",\"wildlife conservation\"],\"articleSection\":[\"animal\",\"ecology\",\"giraffe\",\"wildlife conservation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/\",\"name\":\"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations - Derek Lee\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-08T19:52:57+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1\",\"width\":908,\"height\":956,\"caption\":\"Mother and calf Masai giraffes in Tarangire Ecosystem, Tanzania.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/322\\\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/dereklee\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations\"}]},{\"@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\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations - 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\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations","og_description":"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 published this week in the ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/","og_site_name":"Derek Lee","article_published_time":"2021-04-08T19:52:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":908,"height":956,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Derek Lee","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Derek Lee","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/"},"author":{"name":"Derek Lee","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#\/schema\/person\/41b42fba55c50c75d88b1a44c47d067c"},"headline":"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations","datePublished":"2021-04-08T19:52:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/"},"wordCount":667,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1","keywords":["animals","giraffe","science","social network","wild nature institute","wildlife conservation"],"articleSection":["animal","ecology","giraffe","wildlife conservation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2021","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/","name":"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations - Derek Lee","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1","datePublished":"2021-04-08T19:52:57+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1","width":908,"height":956,"caption":"Mother and calf Masai giraffes in Tarangire Ecosystem, Tanzania."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/322\/giraffe-girl-gangs-are-important-to-giraffe-populations\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Giraffe Girl Gangs are Important to Giraffe Populations"}]},{"@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\/04\/DryGiraffes.jpg?fit=908%2C956&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNOJ-5c","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":189,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/189\/wild-nature-institute-penn-state-and-microsoft-azure-work-together-to-find-the-giraffe-in-the-bushes\/","url_meta":{"origin":322,"position":0},"title":"Wild Nature Institute, Penn State, and Microsoft Azure Work Together to Find the Giraffe in the Bushes","author":"Derek Lee","date":"February 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Giraffe are the tallest animal on earth, so naturally scientists have turned to big data solutions for giraffe conservation.\u00a0 Researchers from Penn State and Wild Nature Institute are conducting one of the biggest large mammal studies ever undertaken by studying births, deaths, and movements of more than 3,000 giraffes across\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Giraffe torso photos used to identify more than 3000 individual giraffes as part of the world's largest giraffe study.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/11\/4917765_orig-e1479998973165.png?fit=450%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":163,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/163\/seeing-spots-new-study-reveals-the-giraffe-babies-inherit-spot-patterns-from-their-mothers-and-certain-spot-traits-improve-newborn-survival\/","url_meta":{"origin":322,"position":1},"title":"Seeing Spots: New Study Reveals the Giraffe Babies Inherit Spot Patterns from Their Mothers and Certain Spot Traits Improve Newborn Survival","author":"Derek Lee","date":"October 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"50-year-old Hypothesis Confirmed with Modern Techniques The beautiful coat patterns of giraffes are individually unique and don\u2019t change with age, but their origins and purpose were a mystery. A new study found wild giraffe spot pattern traits were heritable, passed down from mother to offspring, and certain spot traits improved\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\/2018\/09\/INFORGRAPHICspots.jpg?fit=776%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/09\/INFORGRAPHICspots.jpg?fit=776%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/09\/INFORGRAPHICspots.jpg?fit=776%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/09\/INFORGRAPHICspots.jpg?fit=776%2C1200&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":322,"position":2},"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":315,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/315\/friends-matter-more-sociable-giraffes-live-longer\/","url_meta":{"origin":322,"position":3},"title":"Friends Matter: More Sociable Giraffes Live Longer","author":"Derek Lee","date":"February 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;animal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"animal","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/animal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A group of adult female Masai giraffes.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/femalegiraffes_Sonja-Metzger.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/31\/we-need-you-to-become-a-giraffe-hero\/","url_meta":{"origin":322,"position":4},"title":"We Need You To Become A Giraffe Hero","author":"Derek Lee","date":"December 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Since the announcement that giraffes are Vulnerable to Extinction, many concerned people have asked me what they can do to help save giraffes. Giving money and\/or time to conservation groups like Wild Nature Institute is a great first action to help giraffes. Whatever your skill set, there is an important\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ecology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ecology","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/category\/ecology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"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":322,"position":5},"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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322","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=322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/dereklee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}