Feeling thirsty? You might not want to ask a giraffe for a drink, or they could share the unusual beverage they consume — and we can guarantee you wouldn’t like the taste. Male giraffes drink from the urine stream of a female giraffe.
Why Do Male Giraffes Drink Urine?
Male giraffes taste urine to test if a female is ready to mate.
©Monika Wanat
Ok, so giraffes don’t actually drink urine for fun; there is an important reason for it. A Jan. 2023 study in Animals observed adult giraffes at the Namutoni waterholes at the Etosha National Park in Namibia. They do this to see if a female is ready to mate!
First, they will sniff and prod female giraffes to get them to urinate. The female will take a wide, hind-legged stance to brace herself before urinating (if she agrees to the male’s request, that is). While the female urinates, the males will lean down to collect the pee in their mouths. But they aren’t actually swallowing it or drinking it for hydration. Instead, they will pull urine into two openings in the hard palate on the roof of their mouths and into the vomeronasal organ (VNO), a process called the flehmen response. This organ detects pheromones in the urine to assess if the female giraffe is ready to mate. Notably, they will only do this from a urine stream, never from urine on the ground.
Detecting pheromones from urine is crucial, as it’s the only way for males to determine if the female is ready to mate, i.e., approaching ovulation.
Monika Wanat, PhD in natural sciences
Monika Wanat, PhD in natural sciences, is an artist and award-winning photographer who has recently photographed and observed giraffes in Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania (and provided photos for this article!). She discusses this interesting animal behavior in a chat with A-Z Animals.
Dr. Monika Wanat photographs giraffes in the wild and studies their behavior.
©Monika Wanat
“Many animals such as giraffes, horses, cows, cats, and deer taste urine to check the pheromonal signals of potential mating partners,” Dr. Wanat says. “In some cases, urine may also be ingested for mineral supplementation (especially salt) or as part of a maternal strategy to remove scent traces that could attract predators.”
According to Dr. Wanat, tasting the urine is only the first step. “The main purpose is to allow the urine to reach the vomeronasal organ (VNO), which detects reproductive pheromones. In most mammals, the VNO is connected to the nasal cavity, but in giraffes, it is connected to the oral cavity through the incisive papillae. After tasting the urine, males perform a short flehmen response – curling the upper lip and raising the head – which helps direct the pheromones toward the VNO for detection.”
Urine Tasting and Survival
Urine tasting is crucial for successful reproduction in giraffes, as it allows males to detect when females are fertile. Since they mate year-round, and not just at specific time periods, they need to know when the female is ready.
“Detecting pheromones from urine is crucial, as it’s the only way for males to determine if the female is ready to mate, i.e., approaching ovulation,” Dr. Wanat explains. “There are no visible or behavioral signs of estrus in giraffes.”
Giraffes and other animals use the flehmen response to detect pheromones.
©Monika Wanat
Giraffes are like humans in that way, as we also have no obvious signs of ovulation and must monitor cervical mucus, track the ovarian cycle, or use ovulation tests. “In this sense, tasting urine is a giraffe male’s version of an ovulation test,” Dr. Wanat says.
What Happens Next?
Depending on what the male detects in the female’s urine, he will make one of two moves. “A male who doesn’t find fertile pheromones simply moves on to another female,” says Dr. Wanat. “The male’s strategy is to spend as little time as possible with non-fertile females.”
According to the 2023 study, the male giraffe may have to taste the urine of the same female multiple times in order to see if she’s ready to mate. He may also test the urine of as many willing females as possible, one after another.
“The male’s strategy is to spend as little time as possible with non-fertile females,” says Dr. Wanat.
What If the Female Is Fertile?
Giraffes are non-monogamous creatures, and a male will leave after copulation.
©Monika Wanat
If a male determines that the female is in proestrus and ready to mate, the female can then decide whether she wants to mate with him, influencing mate choice.
“When a fertile female is found, [the male giraffe] temporarily guards her for hours or a few days until he detects that ovulation is imminent,” Dr. Wanat explains. This is important, so he can fight off any other males who might be (literally) sniffing around. “And then mates with her. Since giraffes are non-monogamous, the male leaves the female after copulation – mating is his only role in reproduction.”
A giraffe’s gestation period lasts between 400 and 460 days, or about 13 to 15 months (now 9 months doesn’t seem quite so long!). Once their calves are born, female giraffes will stay in “nursery” herds with other mothers, raising the calves together. Baby giraffes are dependent on their mothers for the first 6 to 12 months of life, after which they are gradually weaned off milk. Calves may remain with their mothers and in nursery groups for up to 18 months before becoming fully independent. Female giraffes will reach sexual maturity at about 3 to 4 years old, and male giraffes will reach sexual maturity at 4 to 5 years old.
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