We cordially invite you to the dissertation thesis defence of Kateřina Gašparová with the title “Social and spatial behaviour of West African giraffe” (Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, ZS-Tropical Agrobiology and Bioresource Management). Thesis defence will take place on 17th December 2024, 12:30 PM, meeting room 315 FTZ.
The West African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) was historically common across the Sudano-Sahelian zone. Due to human population growth, habitat lost, habitat degradation, agriculture, poaching and drought population dramatically decreased, and the last population survived in Niger, concentrated in so called “Giraffe Zone”. In 1996, the world's population consisted of only 49 individuals. After several years of intensive government effort, communities, and NGOs, the population has remarkably increased, and nowadays, the population is approximately 600 individuals. This dissertation thesis focuses on conservation approaches such as census monitoring, community engagement, habitat use, and translocation. It also focuses on human-giraffe coexistence, giraffe resting behaviour in the presence of livestock, its movement, and threats. As the giraffe live in human-dominated agro-pastoral landscapes, they, from time to time, damage crops, especially during the night. Although agriculture is primarily the primary source of income, people have a positive attitude towards giraffes and appreciate them as their heritage. Giraffe might be vigilant in close proximity to humans, but they feel comfortable close to livestock enough to rest next to each other. The harsh conditions are probably the main reason for the large home range, which is larger than in other studies. Even though giraffe are not directly threatened, some indirect threats can influence the population, such as human population growth, habitat loss and degradation, climate change, conflict, and unstable political situations.