Hovatter's - Sign justifying the giraffes being kept on gravel instead of grass

This sounds like a huge pile of bull droppings

@Mr Gharial What, you don't think africa is covered in gravel? The yard is a decent size, at least... can't imagine how high their gravel bill is.

@TinoPup Gravels for giraffes is common in roadside zoos, much like "big cat sand".

@birdsandbats I know, I go to a lot of roadside zoos, remember I've just never seen a sign trying to justify it before.

@TinoPup I know, figured I'd mention it for context.

To be fair - it's not so long ago that most major zoos in Europe did the same (and often had similar signs). Grassy giraffe paddocks as standard are a fairly recent phenomenon in the UK.

@Maguari Is there actual rationale to this practice then, or is this an outdated understanding of giraffe husbandry?

@Coelacanth18 — It is true that giraffe are both highly susceptible to intestinal parasites and are prone to hoof conditions when kept on grassy, soft substrate. Historically, this would be a major problem as heavy parasite loads and hoof abnormalities are often death sentences for giraffe, and giraffe were not until very recently viewed as animals tractable enough nor intelligent enough for intensive training programs. With modern husbandry practices and better understandings of these issues and of giraffe in general, facilities are able to provide varied substrate to wear hooves, enrichment, slow-feeders, and browse to redirect the feeding behavior away from grass or ground foliage, and training regimens for hoof maintenance and anti-parasitic treatments.

@Coelacanth18 Yep, as our tragelaphine friend says - it was considered a necessary precaution once upon a time, but now we have better ways around it.