Giraffes pose unique husbandry challenges in captivity due to their exceptional height, specialized diet, thermoregulatory needs, and social requirements. Welfare science for captive giraffes is a growing field.
Captive giraffe welfare depends critically on appropriate housing height, naturalistic browse diet, compatible social groupings, and substrate quality. Giraffes that cannot engage in species-typical browsing behavior show time-budget abnormalities and may develop oral stereotypies. The difficulty and risk of veterinary interventions means that preventative husbandry is particularly important. Advances in giraffe welfare science have improved captive management, and progressive zoo facilities now provide enhanced browse stations, group housing, and substrate choice.