Nature
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It might be easy to forget that diseases and conditions can cause problems in the world of wildlife just as they can in the human medical sphere. In Kruger National Park, a giraffe has been spotted that may be infected with a type of papillomavirus.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Photographed by wildlife photographer Marius Nortje, the images reveal that the animal is covered in skin nodules, all over its head, neck, and body. The team at Worldwide Vets shared the images on their Facebook page.
“This skin disease is caused by a papillomavirus. There are many types of papillomavirus, each affecting their own species. However it is believed it is the cow variation (bovine papillomavirus, or BPV) [that] is affecting these giraffe. The same virus also infects horses to cause ‘sarcoids’,” they wrote in the caption.
Essentially these infectious diseases that normally affect other species, are finding a way to infect giraffes.
Dr Gemma Campling
The disease is not thought to be life-threatening, though there is no treatment in this particular case. The virus is thought to spread via either direct contact between giraffes or via oxpecker birds. These birds are known to remove ticks and other parasites from the skin of the giraffes, but may also inadvertently spread the disease between individuals.
This is not the first time a giraffe with these symptoms has been seen. Dr Gemma Campling from Worldwide Vets told IFLScience, “In 2007 in the same area, two giraffes showed the same lumps on their skin. With fear the disease may spread fast, they were humanely euthanized and samples sent for research. DNA of bovine papillomavirus (BPV) was confirmed, which causes similar lumps in horses called sarcoids.”
“In 2017, a new species of papillomavirus was found in South African giraffes, this time one which normally affects deer in America. Essentially these infectious diseases that normally affect other species, are finding a way to infect giraffes.”
At the current time there are no plans to euthanize this giraffe, which is being monitored closely by wildlife vets.
Elsewhere in South Africa in 2024 a giraffe was spotted with an impressively zig-zagged neck. While the appearance of the neck was more than a little unusual, the giraffe seemed to be suffering no ill-effects from the condition.
