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Lone bull

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QKOOS DE SWARDT from Pretoria writes: I saw this dark-coloured giraffe bull in the Kruger Park a few years ago. I thought his coloration might have been due to age. A few weeks later we visited SANParks HQ in Pretoria. As far as I remember, the staff told me that he was still young and had been born that way.They said he was a bit of a loner and had been chased off by his herd.

AWildlife expert LD VAN ESSEN says: This giraffe probably has melanism. Melanin is the pigment that lends colour to the skin, hair, feathers and eyes of animals. Melanism is the result of abnormally high levels of this pigment. It’s basically the opposite of albinism, which is a shortage or absence of pigment. There’s no evidence of animals being ostracised because of melanism. Giraffes actually don’t form tight herd structures, and bulls are often loners. Bulls usually only congregate when there’s a cow in oestrus. Even cows are not that loyal and will easily leave one herd to join another.

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