04/10/2025
Dem bones....
philnewton928 posted a photo:
Southern Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa). Crocodile Bridge, Kruger National Park, South Africa.
An example of osteophagy in Giraffes. From Wiki:
Giraffes rely solely on browsing to maintain their diet, which consists primarily of leafy material. However, they are commonly observed supplementing their diet with bones.
Although the exact purpose of this behavior is unknown, it is hypothesized that the ingestion of bones serves as an additional source of calcium and phosphorus. While leaves usually serve as a sufficient source of these nutrients, calcium and phosphorus concentrations in the leaves vary seasonally with rainfall; the giraffes' osteophagic behavior has been observed to parallel this variance in mineral concentration.
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