Do giraffes really struggle with slopes?

A new study analysing the movements of 33 GPS-collared giraffes across five reserves in South Africa has found that giraffes avoid steep terrain and are unable to navigate slopes with a gradient of more than 20 degrees, most likely due to the energy required and the risk of falling. This severely limits the areas in, and outside, protected reserves they can access. Researchers found that giraffes will tolerate terrain of up to 12 degrees, but only if it leads to favourable vegetation. The findings highlight a mismatch between the ideal, flat habitats of giraffes and the areas they’re being conserved in. Using the newly discovered 20 degrees gradient threshold, the researchers were able to calculate the proportion of habitats in key African countries where giraffes are currently found that are inaccessible to the animals. They found that of all the countries which were mapped, one in three had more unusable areas in protected areas than outside of protected areas. Giraffes are currently found in 21 African countries but despite their wide distribution, populations have been declining due to habitat loss, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict. Conservation initiatives are critical for their survival. However, traditional habitat suitability models primarily focus on vegetation distribution, predation, and human disturbance and overlook topography.