Giraffes are among the most challenging zoo animals to keep well due to their size, specific feeding adaptations, and social needs, with welfare problems documented in many traditional zoo exhibits.
Giraffes represent a species where the welfare challenges of captivity are particularly acute. Their extreme size, specific anatomical requirements for feeding from height, and need for wide-ranging movement in social groups are difficult to replicate. Mortality statistics suggest that captive giraffes do not live as well as their wild counterparts. The neurological disease documented in some captive populations remains incompletely explained and may reflect some combination of husbandry, nutrition, and environmental factors. Zoos keeping giraffes face an obligation to honestly evaluate whether they can meet this species needs and invest in the space, social conditions, and environmental complexity required.