Predator experience enhances giraffe vigilance to oxpecker alarm calls.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Animals often benefit from the alarm calls of other species to detect danger, but how such cues are integrated into vigilance strategies remains unclear. Giraffes (Giraffa spp.) rely on early threat detection to avoid ambush and are known hosts of red-billed oxpeckers (Buphagus erythrorhynchus), which form mutualistic associations with large mammals by feeding on ectoparasites and emitting alarm calls in response to approaching threats. While these calls are thought to provide early-warning benefits, it remains unclear how giraffes interpret them, and whether their responses vary with prior exposure to predation risk.

Results

We conducted playback experiments across three giraffe populations differing in predator presence to test whether giraffes adjust vigilance

SUBMITTER: Baotic A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12512274 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature