Why do females have a longer body than males? Why do males have wider necks than females? As a principal scientist for Wild Nature Institute and a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Zurich, Dr. Monica Bond will answer these questions and more as she tells us about her latest research, done in collaboration with Penn State University and led by Dr. Doug Cavener. The team measured differences in body proportions between male and female giraffes, both captive and wild. Their findings offer new insight into a long-standing question - why do giraffes have such looong necks?

Dr. Bond has been an animal lover for as long as she can remember. She became particularly interested in biology in high school, and discovered the world of wildlife science in college, after visiting a friend who was studying nesting of Peregrine Falcons in Great Smokey Mountains National Park. She loves to mix field research with writing and talking about the beauty and importance of wildlife and nature. She has lived and worked in Tanzania for 12 years.

Dr. Bond and the Wild Nature Institute team are studying more than 4,500 wild Masai giraffes in an area over 25,000 sq. km in Tanzania. This is the BIGGEST study of giraffe survival and reproduction in the world.