A leg up for giraffes: Auburn researcher explores hoof health
By Troy Johnson
In contemplating the wonder and complexity of the natural world, the late author Kurt Vonnegut found metaphorical utility in stilt-legged, flexible-necked vegetarians capable of balancing 2,500 pounds of body weight on four feet the approximate diameter of dinner plates.
“Evolution is so creative,” Vonnegut wrote. “That’s how we got giraffes.”
Imagine carrying the equivalent of a compact sedan on four cloven hooves that are comparable to large, thick fingernails. For giraffes, the world’s tallest land animals, that’s the reality of daily movement. But in zoos and other managed environments, carrying that immense weight can lead to significant health challenges. Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine Anatomy Lab Coordinator Dr. Ray Wilhite is part of a novel collaborative study that may lead to improved hoof health and extended lifespans for the graceful giants in human care.
Working in partnership with the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe (the Giraffe Center) at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Wilhite is contributing to a first-of-its-kind anatomical study of the lower limbs of giraffes, both in the wild and in human care.
“It has been known for a while that giraffes in human care need hoof care to maintain healthy feet,” said Wilhite, who has served as the college’s Anatomy Lab coordinator since 2008. “Until now, we have not been able to study the anatomy of wild giraffe hooves, so this study will help more giraffes in human care avoid hoof issues that a lack of quality hoof care could present.”
Even though a male southern giraffe will stand as tall as 18 feet, health problems for the species can begin at ground level. In the wild, constant movement across varied terrains helps giraffes naturally file down their hooves – which continue to grow consistently, like fingernails. Each step across the ground gradually wears the hoof wall down, keeping it at an optimum length.
The ‘how’ of hoof care
In human-managed settings like zoos, giraffe care professionals emulate that natural wear process by providing hoof trims every few weeks to avoid overgrowth. Overgrown hooves can affect the gait of the animal, leading to potentially serious health conditions. In zoos, like Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, giraffes are trained, through positive reinforcement (offers of snacks, for example), to stand with their foot on a block and curl it backward to expose the underside of the hoof for cleaning, measuring and trimming through the use of specialized tools. As a leader in animal care for the zoo profession, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has worked to provide quality hoof care for its giraffe herd (known as a “tower” in the profession) since around 2013. The zoo established the Giraffe Center in 2022, through which it shares expertise with other organizations globally.
“Giraffe are incredibly smart,” said Amy Schilz, senior animal behaviorist at the Giraffe Center. “Our whole herd voluntarily participates in their own hoof care. We ask them to come to the training panel where they raise their leg to rest their hoof on a block. Then we can trim, file or X-ray their hoof while we give them lots of crackers or lettuce. It’s incredibly fulfilling as a trainer because the giraffe are eager to participate and we know we’re providing good welfare for them.”
During voluntary training, the giraffe can choose to approach the trainers, and they have every opportunity to walk away. This method of training means giraffes can receive the care they need without anesthesia, which always carries some level of risk, especially for large animals.
Keepers use hoof picks to remove debris and dirt from the hoof. Hoof knives and rasps are employed to trim the sole and shape of the hoof during the painless process. At Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, for example, giraffe are under the care of experienced and certified hoof care professionals — a role that is still uncommon in the zoo field.
“We hope to help change that by encouraging more facilities to prioritize foot health as a standard part of exceptional giraffe care,” said Diana Miller, giraffe specialist and hoof care professional at the Giraffe Center. “However, we need the data from this study to guide us. Right now, there are few, if any, resources that show you how to properly trim a giraffe’s hoof. Our hope is that this study will provide a foundation for that.”
Steps toward a healthier future
The need for preventative care in human-managed settings is important, Wilhite said, because poor hoof condition can put giraffes at risk for lameness, infections, bone damage, arthritis and ligament damage. Wilhite and his collaborators are taking an inside-out approach to improving understanding of giraffe anatomy and, ultimately, refining hoof care globally. The utility is evident for partners like Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which houses the nation’s largest herd of giraffes, currently at 16 members of the tower. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the park is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is consistently ranked among the nation’s top zoos.
“We’re trying to understand the internal anatomy of the foot and hopefully use this understanding to guide recommendations on maintaining the outside of the foot,” said Wilhite, who traveled to Namibia in May to collect data on wild giraffe feet with the support of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF). “We’re not just using one modality to illustrate the anatomy. We’re using CT data, we’re using cross-sectional data and we’re using anatomical dissection data together.”
The first step in the study involved capturing CT images of giraffe hooves from animals in human care, as well as some living in the wild. The scans offer opportunities to compare hoof structures across the two groups and identify similarities and differences.
“This study is a great example for the benefits of collaboration,” said Stephanie Fennessy, executive director of the GCF’s Namibian headquarter. “As an Africa-based conservation organization, we rely on funding from our partners, but at the same time, we can give back by facilitating in situ research opportunities as part of our conservation efforts. While this research is not part of our core mission, collaboration is, so we were excited to be part of this study.”
The researchers will describe soft tissue anatomy, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels and – of critical importance to hoof care – the heel bulbs that are located at the rear of the foot. The heel bulbs act as shock absorbers as giraffes navigate varied terrain and help support their immense weight.
The dual comparison of wild versus human care represents a unique facet of the research, according to Wilhite. “The two animals that have been used most frequently to teach folks learning hoof care are horses and cattle,” Wilhite said. “Horses, cattle and giraffes may look similar, but each are anatomically very different.”
Wilhite said the ultimate goal is to publish the study and advance hoof care globally, benefitting giraffes in human care.
“With the findings of this collaborative study, we are all helping giraffe in human care live their best lives – and we’re able to connect more people with giraffes, which ultimately helps us save giraffe in the wild through funding conservation efforts,” Schilz said.