South African giraffe | |
---|---|
Male in South Africa | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Giraffidae |
Genus: | Giraffa |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | G. c. giraffa |
Trinomial name | |
Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa (von Schreber, 1784) | |
Range in light green |
The South African giraffe or Cape giraffe (Giraffa giraffa [2] or Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) is a species or subspecies of giraffe found in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Mozambique. It has rounded or blotched spots, some with star-like extensions on a light tan background, running down to the hooves.
In 2016, the population was estimated at 31,500 individuals in the wild.
The IUCN currently recognizes only one species of giraffe with nine subspecies. [1] [3] The Cape giraffe, along with the whole species, were first known by the binomen Camelopardalis giraffa as described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in his publication Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen (The Mammals Illustrated from Nature with Descriptions) during his travel in the Cape of Good Hope in 1784. Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert also described it under the binomial name Giraffa giraffa whilst also identifying the nominate specimen of said species under the ternary name Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa in 1785. [4]
Following Schreber's description of the South African giraffe, several specimens were described by other naturalists and zoologists since the end of the 18th century under different scientific names, which are all considered synonyms of Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa today:
The South African giraffe has dark, somewhat rounded patches "with some fine projections" on a tawny background colour. The spots extend down the legs and get smaller. The median lump of males is less developed. [5] : 52
The South African giraffe is found in northern South Africa, southern Botswana, southern Zimbabwe, and south-western Mozambique. [6] After local extinctions in various places, South African giraffes have been reintroduced in many parts of Southern Africa, including in Eswatini. They are common in both in and outside of protected areas. [1] South African giraffes usually live in savannahs and woodlands where food plants are available. Giraffes are herbivorous. They feed on leaves, flowers, fruits and shoots of woody plants such as Acacia.
South African giraffes live in a fission–fusion society system based on factors such as sex, age, season, and kinship. [7] This allows them to adapt to environmental changes. [8]
At present[ when? ], the South African giraffe population is estimated at 37,000 individuals, showing an increase of over 150% over the past three decades. [9] The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the body that administers the world's official endangered species list, announced in 2016 that it was moving the giraffe from a species of Least Concern to Vulnerable status in its Red List of Threatened Species report. That means the animal faces extinction in the wild in the medium-term future if nothing is done to minimize the threats to its life or habitat.
South African giraffes are uncommon in captivity. As of 2010, there are around 45 South African giraffes breeding in zoos. [6] Approximately 12,000 privately owned farms, ranches, and national parks maintain populations of this giraffe[ citation needed ].
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffa. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into up to eight extant species due to new research into their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements. Seven other extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.
The Giraffidae are a family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a common ancestor with deer and bovids. This family, once a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa, presently comprises only two extant genera, the giraffe and the okapi. Both are confined to sub-Saharan Africa: the giraffe to the open savannas, and the okapi to the dense rainforest of the Congo. The two genera look very different on first sight, but share a number of common features, including a long, dark-coloured tongue, lobed canine teeth, and horns covered in skin, called ossicones.
The Masai giraffe, also spelled Maasai giraffe, and sometimes called the Kilimanjaro giraffe, is a species or subspecies of giraffe. It is native to East Africa. The Masai giraffe can be found in central and southern Kenya and in Tanzania. It has distinctive jagged, irregular leaf-like blotches that extend from the hooves to its head. The Masai giraffe is currently the national animal of Tanzania.
The northern giraffe, also known as three-horned giraffe, is the type species of giraffe, G. camelopardalis, and is native to North Africa, although alternative taxonomic hypotheses have proposed the northern giraffe as a separate species.
Panthera leo melanochaita is a lion subspecies in Southern and East Africa. In this part of Africa, lion populations are regionally extinct in Lesotho, Djibouti and Eritrea, and are threatened by loss of habitat and prey base, killing by local people in retaliation for loss of livestock, and in several countries also by trophy hunting. Since the turn of the 21st century, lion populations in intensively managed protected areas in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe have increased, but declined in East African range countries. In 2005, a Lion Conservation Strategy was developed for East and Southern Africa.
Rothschild's giraffe is a subspecies of the Northern giraffe. It is one of the most endangered distinct populations of giraffe, with 1,399 mature individuals estimated in the wild in 2018.
The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 849 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.
Burchell's starling or Burchell's glossy-starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. The monogamous and presumably sedentary species is native to dry and mesic woodlands and savannah of southern Africa. The name of this bird commemorates the English naturalist William John Burchell.
The buffy pipit is a species of bird in the Motacillidae family. It is found in plains and open countryside in southern and eastern Africa. The IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of least concern.
Retz's helmetshrike is a species of bird in the helmetshrike family Vangidae, formerly usually included in the Malaconotidae.
The rock dormouse or flat-headed African dormouse is a species of rodent in the family Gliridae. It is found in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe where it lives among rocks in upland areas. It is a fairly common, mainly nocturnal species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The Kordofan giraffe is a species or subspecies of giraffe found in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and possibly western Sudan. Historically some confusion has existed over the exact range limit of this subspecies compared to the West African giraffe, with populations in e.g. northern Cameroon formerly assigned to the latter. Genetic work has also revealed that all "West African giraffe" in European zoos are in fact Kordofan giraffe. It has been suggested that the Nigerian giraffe's ancestor dispersed from East to North Africa during the Quaternary period and thereafter migrated to its current Sahel distribution in West Africa in response to the development of the Sahara desert. Compared to most other subspecies, the Kordofan giraffe is relatively small at 3.8 to 4.7 meters, with more irregular spots on the inner legs. Its English name is a reference to Kordofan in Sudan. There are around 2,300 individuals living in the wild.
The West African giraffe, also known as the Niger giraffe or Nigerian giraffe, is a species or subspecies of the giraffe distinguished by its light colored spots. It is found in the Sahel of West Africa.
Thornicroft's giraffe, also known as the Rhodesian giraffe or Luangwa giraffe, is a subspecies of giraffe. It is sometimes considered a species in its own right or a subspecies of the Masai giraffe. It is geographically isolated, occurring only in Zambia’s South Luangwa Valley. An estimated 550 live in the wild, with no captive populations. Its lifespan is 22 years for males and 28 years for females. The ecotype was originally named after Harry Scott Thornicroft, a commissioner in what was then North-Eastern Rhodesia and later Northern Rhodesia.
The reticulated giraffe is a species or subspecies of giraffe native to the Horn of Africa. It lives in Somalia, southern Ethiopia, and northern Kenya. There are approximately 8,500 individuals living in the wild.
The Southeast African cheetah is the nominate cheetah subspecies native to East and Southern Africa. The Southern African cheetah lives mainly in the lowland areas and deserts of the Kalahari, the savannahs of Okavango Delta, and the grasslands of the Transvaal region in South Africa. In Namibia, cheetahs are mostly found in farmlands. In India, four cheetahs of the subspecies are living in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh after having been introduced there.
The Nubian giraffe, also known as Baringo giraffe or Ugandan giraffe, is the nominate subspecies or species of giraffe. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan. It is currently extinct in the wild of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Eritrea. The Nubian giraffe used to be widespread in northeast Africa. The subspecies was listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN in 2018 for the first time due to a 95% decline in the past three decades.
The Angolan giraffe, also known as the Namibian giraffe or smokey giraffe, is a species or subspecies of giraffe that is found in northern Namibia, south-western Zambia, Botswana, western Zimbabwe and since mid-2023 again in Angola.
The southern giraffe, also known as two-horned giraffe, is a species of giraffe native to Southern Africa. However, the IUCN currently recognizes only one species of giraffe with nine subspecies.
Megaherbivores are large terrestrial herbivores that can exceed 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) in weight. This polyphyletic group of megafauna includes elephants, rhinos, hippos, and giraffes. The largest bovids occasionally reach a weight of 1 tonne, but they are generally not considered to be megaherbivores. There are nine extant species of megaherbivores living in Africa and Asia. The African bush elephant is the largest extant species with bulls reaching a height of up to 3.96 m (13.0 ft) and a maximum weight of 10,400 kg (22,900 lb).