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To zoo or not to zoo

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Originally posted by AThousandYoung
No.

I was there.
You almost had me with that one.

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giraffe facts!

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EPG/is_n5_v29/ai_16885922/

Giraffes up close - facts about physical aspects and behavior of giraffes - Cover Story
Ranger Rick, May, 1995 by Leslie Dendy

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TREETOP SALAD

Giraffes can nibble treetops that no other animals can reach by standing. In just one day, a giraffe might eat 75 pounds (34 kg) of leaves, twigs, flowers, and fruits. That's like 400 human-sized servings of salad.

For occasional snacks, giraffes eat bird nests, dead animals, and salty soil. And sometimes they chew on bones.

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NOSE PICKER

A giraffe can poke its long tongue up its own nostrils so it can clean them.

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TOOTHY TALE

Giraffes have front teeth only on the bottom jaw. On top is a hard pad (see next page). The teeth and pad work together kind of like a knife and a cutting board. Giraffes use their teeth to snip off leaves and even small branches.

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if it can snip a small branch it could easily snip an ear.

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Originally posted by zeeblebot
if it can snip a small branch it could easily snip an ear.
Find one instance of a giraffe biting a human and I will concede the possibility. As of now, I have to side with the African. My feverish googling has turned up nothing.

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Originally posted by AThousandYoung
GIRAFFE CLAIMS THIRD VICTIM AT GLOBAL WILDLIFE

UNEEDUS, Louisiana — Veteran wildlife guide Dizzy Dimarco was encouraging visitors to hand feed giraffes when one of the 16ft-high animals reached down and grabbed her by the head.

http://www.hammondactionnews.com/post/411762027/giraffe0210
that is so sad. 🙁

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Originally posted by darvlay
Find one instance of a giraffe biting a human and I will concede the possibility. As of now, I have to side with the African. My feverish googling has turned up nothing.
this should spur you on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_behavior_in_animals#Giraffes

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Giraffes

Male giraffes have been observed to engage in remarkably high frequencies of homosexual behavior. After aggressive "necking", it is common for two male giraffes to <del> and court each other, leading up to <del> and <del> Such interactions between males have been found to be more frequent than heterosexual <del>.[61] In one study, up to 94% of observed <del> incidents took place between two males. The proportion of same sex activities varied between 30 and 75%, and at any given time one in twenty males were engaged in non-combative necking behavior with another male. Only 1% of same-sex <del> incidents occurred between females.[62]


Humans

See Homosexuality

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Two_Giraffes.PNG

Two male giraffes in Kenya.

1 edit
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Originally posted by zeeblebot

Giraffes have front teeth only on the bottom jaw. On top is a hard pad (see next page). The teeth and pad work together kind of like a knife and a cutting board. Giraffes use their teeth to snip off leaves and even small branches.

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To be precise -- the giraffe's 'canine teeth are splayed out in two or three lobes to comb the leaves off shoots'.

Can you imagine a giraffe combing off someone's ear?

The role of the tongue in gathering leaves is repeatedly emphasised in the literature.

I'm not saying you couldn't set a giraffe up to bite an ear off, but it's just not something the animal is likely to do on its own.

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Originally posted by darvlay
Find one instance of a giraffe biting a human and I will concede the possibility. As of now, I have to side with the African. My feverish googling has turned up nothing.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

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Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
I'm not saying you couldn't set a giraffe up to bite an ear off, but it's just something the animal is likely to do on its own.
Or maybe not.

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Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
To be precise -- the giraffe's 'canine teeth are splayed out in two or three lobes to comb the leaves off shoots'.

Can you imagine a giraffe combing off someone's ear?

The role of the tongue in gathering leaves is repeatedly emphasised in the literature.

I'm not saying you couldn't set a giraffe up to bite an ear off, but it's just not something the animal is likely to do on its own.
So, you would have to tempt it using some sort of a bribe?

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Originally posted by Nordlys
Or maybe not.
Gnargh.

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Originally posted by Very Rusty
So, you would have to tempt it using some sort of a bribe?
I was thinking of something more elaborate, forceful and mechanical.

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Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
Gnargh.
Is that the sound of a giraffe biting an ear off?

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http://www.thealexandriazoo.com/visitors/faq.html

WILL THE ZOO ANIMALS BITE?
Yes, all animals are capable of biting. Even the deer. The animals in the collection are not tame. Some are manageable and some the keepers are able to go into the enclosure, but they are all wild animals and are capable of biting or worse.