Where do Giraffes Live

 Where do Giraffes Live

Giraffe is the largest ruminant and the tallest land animal in the world, native to East Africa. Giraffe lives in grasslands and open woodlands in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This long-necked, cud-chewing mammal belongs to family Giraffidae. A long-term effort and research led by Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) and Senckenberg Biodiversity and Research Centre in Germany Collected over 1000 DNA samples from the populations of giraffe of all over Africa to solve the mystery of giraffe taxonomy and genetics. A 2021 whole genome sequencing study found that there are four species and seven subspecies.

The name of four species of giraffe are as follows:

·       Southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa)

·       Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi)

·       Reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata)

·       Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

The seven subspecies of giraffe are as follows:

·       Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum)

·       West African giraffe (G. c. peralta)

·       Nubian giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis)

·       Angolan giraffe (G. g. angolensis)

·       South African giraffe (G. g. giraffa)

·       Thornicroft's giraffe (G. c. thornicrofti)

·       Rothschild's giraffe (G. c. rothschildi)

Masai Giraffe

Masai Giraffe lives in Tanzania and southern and central Kenya. Masai Giraffe is listed endangered by IUCN. Their numbers decreased by 52% due to habitat loss and hunting. Now about 100 Masai giraffes are surviving in the zoos and about 45400 are in the wild.

Thornicroft’s giraffe, a subspecies of Masai giraffe lives in South Luangwa Valley, northeast Zambia. About 550 Thornicroft’s giraffes are living in the wild. They can live up to 28 years.

Reticulated Giraffe

Reticulated Giraffe or Somali giraffe lives in Horn of Africa. Reticulated Giraffe is found in northern Kenya, Somali and southern part of Ethiopia. They prefer to live in savanna, rainforests, woodlands and also seasonal floodplains. About 8500 Reticulated Giraffes are living in the wild.

Northern Giraffe

Northern Giraffe or three-horned giraffe lives in North Africa. Once they were found from Mali, Nigeria and Senegal to far north Egypt and also in Libya. They were also found in Morocco but AD 600 they were extinct.

The subspecies of Northern giraffe, Kordofan giraffes live in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, northeastern DR Congo and the Central African Republic and possibly western Sudan. Approximately 2000 Kordofan giraffes are surviving in the wild.

Nubian giraffe is a subspecies of Northern giraffe, native to Northeast Africa. Nubian giraffes live in Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Once they were found in Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo and Eritrea but now extinct from these countries. 95% of their numbers reduced in the last three decades so 2018, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the subspecies Critically Endangered. The Nubian giraffe prefer to live in woodlands and savannas. Less than 200 Nubian giraffes are surviving in Ethiopia. South Sudan is the home of 400 Nubian giraffe and 800 live in Kenya and 1550 in Uganda.

Rothschild's giraffes live in Kenya and Uganda. Once they were found in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan but now, they are extinct from these countries. In 2018, Rothschild's giraffes were listed as near threatened. They are seen in the Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya and Murchison Falls National Park in northern Uganda.

 West African Giraffe, a subspecies of Northern giraffe is native to Sahel regions of West Africa. They are found in Niger and protected by the Niger Government. West African Giraffe is considered the most endangered subspecies and approximately 400 giraffes are living in the wild.

Northern Giraffe or three-horned giraffe, belongs to Giraffidae family. The females are shorter than the male giraffe. Their coat is tan color with light brown, reddish or light orange polygonal spots. They have two horns on their forehead, known as ossicones. The male giraffe has a third ossicone in the center of their head which is about 3 inches to 5 inches in length. The horns of the northern giraffe are longer and larger than those of the southern giraffe. They also eat leaves, fruits, flowers and shoots from acacia trees and can consume around 140 pounds of these vegetations. Their four chambered stomach and strong muscles allow them to regurgitate the food from the stomach to their mouth. In the breeding season the male and female giraffe display courtship by licking and touching and rubbing head and ossicles with each other. The Female gives birth to offspring in standing position so the baby falls on the ground from the height of around six feet but within a few hours, the offspring able to walk with its mother’s help. Because of their size and defense by their kicks, they are not defeated by the lions, leopards, hyena, wild dogs and other natural predators.

Southern Giraffe

Southern Giraffe or two-horned giraffe species of giraffe. They are endemic to Southern Africa. They are found in Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. They prefer to live in woodlands and savannas. About 44500 individuals are surviving in the world.

The Angolan giraffe is the subspecies of Southern giraffe, lives in western Zambia, northern Namibia and Botswana. It is estimated that 13000 Angolan giraffes are living in the wild and about 20 are living in zoos.

The South African giraffe is a subspecies of Southern giraffe. They live in Mozambique, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. They eat leaves, shoots of woody plants, fruits of acacia trees so they prefer to live in the savannas and woodlands, where they get sufficient food.

Southern giraffe is a species of giraffe of the order Artiodactyla and the scientific name is Giraffa giraffa. They get the name Giraffa giraffa from the Dutch naturalist and physician Pieter Boddaert. Their body is tan in color, covered with reddish-brown rounded and irregular patches or spots. The subspecies of Southern giraffe, Angolan giraffe has large angular brown patches on their body and have white patch in their ears which is a distinctive feature among the other subspecies. On their back has a small but distinct hump which is made up of seven vertebrae. They also have small horns on their head. In the breeding season, the male giraffe fight with the other male to earn the right to mate. Female giraffes reach sexual maturity at the age of four but the male become mature at the age of seven. Female giraffe gives birth one baby which is about 1.75 meters at birth. The mother giraffe cares and protects the bay and maintain strong bonds. Their common predators are leopards, hyenas, wild dogs and also the crocodiles who hide in the muddy water and catch the giraffe especially offspring when they drinking water.  Although the southern giraffe is not a threatened species because their numbers are of the increasing due to the conservation efforts.