AI for Good

Chapter 8Social Networks of Giraffes

—Juan M. Lavista Ferres, Derek Lee, and Monica Bond

Executive Summary

Climate change impacts the natural habitat of animals and may, therefore, change their behaviors which may, in turn, impact their ability to reproduce. To understand that potential impact, it is important to analyze behaviors in a reproducible way and track behavioral changes over time. Here, we used a dataset of 1,081 giraffes (species Giraffa camelopardalis) that researchers created, having used artificial intelligence to individually identify them. This dataset allowed us to study their social behaviors within and across distinct social communities in a larger population over a five-year period.

Giraffes are not territorial. Males mate with multiple females, and they differ in size based on gender and age. While they form distinct social groups, they can move between these groups. Therefore, believing that sex- and age-class differences might mediate social connectedness and transitions among communities, we hypothesized that adult males—and the youth of both sexes—would show greater degrees of social connectedness and movement across groups (betweenness) than adult females, which form stronger and more stable relationships. We also expected that young animals would be more socially connected than adults (see Figure 8.1).

Figure 8.1 Giraffe in Tanzania, August 2023 ...