Abstract
Foot health in zoo giraffe has been a topic of recent research, although little is known about the foot health of free-ranging giraffe. This study describes the foot shape and radiographic pathological changes in 27 young adult Nubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) from a translocation in Uganda (August 2017). Giraffe feet were observed to have a concave sole, the hoof wall was longest by the toe tip, and the weight-bearing surface of the foot was primarily along the periphery of the foot including hoof wall, parts of the heel, and the edge of the sole. Radiographs showed that pedal osteitis and sesamoid bone cysts were relatively uncommon (3/24 giraffe with osteitis, 1/24 giraffe with sesamoid cysts), and that no giraffe in the study had P3 joint osteoarthritis, P3 rotation, or P3 fractures. Radiographs consistently demonstrated a positive palmar/plantar angle with the sole of the hoof thicker at the heel than by the toe tip, with the non weight-bearing palmar/plantar angle measuring 1.6°- 4.3°. This is the first systematic review of foot shape and radiographs in free-ranging giraffe and demonstrates a low prevalence of foot pathologies. This study suggests qualitative differences in foot shape, foot health, radiographic anatomy, and foot pathologies when comparing free-ranging and zoo giraffe. Further research is needed to identify why these differences occur and whether husbandry modifications could help improve zoo giraffe foot health and prevent associated lameness.
Highlights
Hoof overgrowth and chronic lameness are well-described health concerns for zoo giraffe [1,2,3,4]
Radiographic evidence of foot disease was uncommon in the giraffe in this study
Pedal osteitis was identified in 12.5% (3/24) giraffe, representing both sexes (Table 2, Fig 2B)
Summary
Hoof overgrowth and chronic lameness are well-described health concerns for zoo giraffe [1,2,3,4]. Causes of lameness appear to be multifactorial, and include diseases of the hoof [5,6,7], soft tissues [8, 9], joints [10,11,12,13,14], and bones [15,16,17,18,19]. Aside from co-authors who donated to the crowdfunding project, no other funders had a role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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