Using playback experiments with free-ranging Southern giraffes (Giraffa giraffa), the study compared responses to lion vocalizations with alarm calls from red-billed oxpeckers. The findings show that giraffes responded more strongly and consistently to lion vocalizations, regardless of which of the two sounds was played first, suggesting that they place greater behavioral weight on direct predator-associated cues than on indirect warning signals from another species.
The study also found that females generally showed stronger vigilance responses than males.
Read the full article in the journal Behavioral Ecology:
Publication: Anton Baotic, Differential weighting of lion vocalizations and oxpecker alarm calls in giraffes, Behavioral Ecology, Volume 37, Issue 5, September/October 2026, arag099, doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arag099.