Predator experience enhances giraffe vigilance to oxpecker alarm calls

Our findings suggest that oxpeckers serve a sentinel-like function and that giraffes use their alarm calls as early-warning signals, with stronger responses observed in populations exposed to predators. This supports the idea that eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls can provide context-dependent benefits, with predator-experienced giraffes showing greater sensitivity to oxpecker alarms. By linking behavioral flexibility with ecological context, this study offers a framework for understanding how mutualistic communication systems adapt to changing predation pressures.