Giraffe - Skin condition or mud?

Giraffe - Skin condition or mud?

Submitted by Ingwe on Sat, 12/05/2007 - 12:11am. African Wildlife/ Nature Quest

This giraffe was seen on cam 12th May, what is going on with his skin?

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WildlifeCampus

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Sun, 13/05/2007 - 11:08pm

Difficult to make out, it is likely however to be mud rather than an overall skin condition. Giraffe however don't mud wallow, they do lie down for part of each night, but would generally find a dry place to do so. Thus if mud where does it come from ?

If this is a dermatological issue, being a fairly large giraffe it will quickly come to the attention of the game managers and a wildife vet will be called.

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Tabs

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Mon, 14/05/2007 - 2:15pm

Personally, I believe that the picture of the giraffe is simply 'blurred/out of focus'..... no skin condition or mud involved. Do you have any other pics which could confirm (or deny) this?

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Ingwe

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Mon, 14/05/2007 - 2:54pm

No Tabs it was in focus, he was with 3 other giraffes who had normal looking skin.

More pics

There was a discussion about the giraffe here

http://www.africam.com/boma/viewtopic.php?p=218878&highlight=#218878

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Tabs

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Mon, 14/05/2007 - 3:04pm

Thanks Ingwe - I will look again at the pics at a more sociable time (ie: when I am more awake!) but, in the meantime I hope that you recieve an acceptable explanation of the raffies skin 'condition'.

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Wild Dreamer

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Tue, 15/05/2007 - 8:31am

There is a condition called "Lumpy Skin Disease" I believe that is what we are looking at. Evidently it affects all types of cattle, giraffes, impalas, etc. I found all kinds of vet reports, descriptions, and photos but I lost my links. I will see if I can find them again. Or you may Google Lumpy Skin Disease. I even found a photo of a giraffe with the condition but it did not look near as bad as this poor fellow. It also looks as tho it could be some kind of Papilloma (wart) condition.
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Sherran

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Tue, 15/05/2007 - 9:34am

Lumpy skin condition does describe what this guy has. You could even see the lumps swaying as he walked. Thanks for posting this Wild Dreamer.

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maxx

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Fri, 18/05/2007 - 10:28pm

I found this snippet in a Google search....un-named disease as of 2000...

Quote:

Giraffe skin disease in Ruaha NP

This skin disease affects only giraffe and is characterized by hair loss, followed by raising of the affected area, and later wrinkling, cracking, and encrustation. The lesions typically localize on the flexor side of the carpal joints and occasionally on the medial side of the scapula area. The disease was first seen in one area of the Park in 2000 and is now spreading to other areas of the Park. Preliminary investigation showed involvement of Dermatophilus species, but this could not be confirmed. The mode of spread and epidemiology need to be studied.

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Giraffe - Skin condition or mud?

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