Giraffe fighting

Giraffe fighting (also know as necking) is a unique form of showing dominance between male giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis). They fight for territory, dominance and the female affection. While giraffes are usually perceived as gentle mammals, these fights can be very intense. Male giraffes have been known to engage in bruising fights; literally going head to head until a single giraffe is left standing, as seen on the popular BBC1 documentary Africa by David Attenborough.
Fighting Style
Unlike other mammals’ method of fighting, which might involve biting, head wrestling and headbutting, giraffes resolve their competition mainly by using their neck as the weapon. Such fighting style consists of two different intensities; low and high.
In low intensity necking, the combatants rub and lean against each other. The male who can remain upright for the longest wins the duel.
In high intensity necking however, the males will stand side-by-side, then swing their neck in a circular motion, violently slamming into each other in order to determine the victor. The contestants will also try to dodge each other's attacks and then proceed to counter using the same technique. If the combatants are evenly matched, blows are sometimes exchanged in an orderly fashion giving the impression that they are taking turns. Fights like these can last for more than half an hour.
Results
While the ossicones can inflict injuries and sometimes even a knock-out blow, according to experts, fights rarely result in a fatality. Another male giraffe was killed when its opponent punched a hole in its neck just below the ears, splintering its top vertebrae, and consequently penetrating the spinal column.
Scientific Studies
While scientific studies of giraffes traditionally focused on their iconic aspects such as how fast they can travel, how high they can reach using their long legs, the strength of their necks and the colour of their coats; biologists have become interested in the relationships between the animals. Some researchers suggest that males giraffes’ instinct to compete with one another naturally makes them anti-social, but females prefer to stay in a group. Simmons and Scheepers claimed that combat is a much more obvious reason as to why giraffes have long neck, rather than to reach for food in high places. They said that giraffes find most of their meals near the ground, and long neck is not needed for survival. A stronger, longer-necked male would attract females more easily and mate more often. As a side effect of this, the giraffes genes as a whole have evolved to become longer-necked, an example of natural selection.

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