Giraffes present unique welfare challenges in zoos, including specific dietary requirements, vulnerability to capture myopathy during transport, and social needs that require careful management of group composition.
Giraffes are animals whose welfare needs are only partially understood and frequently underestimated. Their extraordinary size and unusual body plan create specific vulnerabilities: they are easily stressed by handling, prone to hypothermia in cold climates, and prone to lameness on hard flooring. Transport is a high-risk welfare event - giraffes that become hyperthermic during loading can die from capture myopathy within hours or days. The decline of wild giraffe populations is accelerating, making the role of captive populations in conservation increasingly important, but this must be balanced against the genuine welfare costs of keeping animals with large space requirements in zoo environments.