Southern giraffe

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Southern giraffe
Angolan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis) males.jpg
Male Angolan giraffes in Etosha National Park, Namibia.
Not recognized (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Giraffidae
Genus: Giraffa
Species:
G. giraffa
Binomial name
Giraffa giraffa
(von Schreber, 1784)

The southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), also known as two-horned giraffe, [1] is a species of giraffe native to Southern Africa. [2] The IUCN recognises four giraffe species, with several recognised subspecies. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Southern giraffes have rounded or blotched spots, some with star-like extensions on a light tan background, running down to the hooves. They range from South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique. Their approximate population is composed of 44,500 to 50,000 individuals. [6]

Giraffes are considered Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN. [3]

Taxonomy and evolution

Living giraffes were originally classified as one species by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, under the binomial name Cervus camelopardalis. Morten Thrane Brünnich classified the genus Giraffa in 1772. [7] Once considered a subspecies of the conglomerate Giraffa camelopardalis species, recent studies proposed the southern giraffe as a separate species of a reorganised genus Giraffa , under the binomial name Giraffa giraffa. [2] [6] [8]

Subspecies

Subspecies of Southern giraffe
SubspeciesDescriptionImage
Angolan giraffe (G. g. angolensis), also known as Namibian GiraffeIs found in Southern Angola, northern Namibia, south-western Zambia, Botswana, and western Zimbabwe. A 2009 genetic study on this subspecies suggests the northern Namib Desert and Etosha National Park populations each form a separate subspecies. [9] This subspecies has large brown blotches with edges that are either somewhat notched or have angular extensions. The spotting pattern extends throughout the legs but not the upper part of the face. The neck and rump patches tend to be fairly small. The subspecies also has a white ear patch. [10] : 51  Around 13,000 animals are estimated to remain in the wild; and about 20 are kept in zoos. [6] Giraffa camelopardalis -Zambia-8.jpg
South African giraffe (G. g. giraffa), also known as Cape giraffeIs found in northern South Africa, southern Botswana, southern Zimbabwe, Eswatini, south-western Mozambique. and Malawi It 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. [10] : 52  Approximately 31,500 are estimated to remain in the wild, and around 45 are kept in zoos. [6] Giraffe standing.jpg

Descriptions

The South African subspecies of the southern 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 bulls is less developed. [10] : 52 

Distribution and habitat

The southern giraffes live in the savannahs and woodlands of northern South Africa, Angola, southern Botswana, southern Zimbabwe, Zambia and south-western Mozambique. After local extinctions in various places, South African giraffes have been reintroduced in many parts of Southern Africa, including Eswatini, Majete Game Reserve in Malawi [11] , and Maputo and Zinave National Park s in Mozambique [12] , the Angolan giraffe has been reintroduced to the Cuatir Conservation Area in Southern Angola and starting in 2023 Iona National Park [13] on the north bank of the Cunene River.

They are common in both inside and outside of protected areas. [3]

Ecology and behavior

Southern giraffes usually live in savannahs and woodlands where food plants are available. Southern giraffes are herbivorous mammals. They feed on leaves, flowers, fruits and shoots of woody plants such as Acacia.

Threats

Southern giraffes are not threatened, as their population is increasing. [3]

References

  1. ↑ Lesson, R. (1842). The Southern or Two-horned giraffe (Giraffa capensis). Existing Forms of Giraffe (February 16, 1897): 14.
  2. 1 2 Petzold, Alice; Hassanin, Alexandre (2020-02-13). "A comparative approach for species delimitation based on multiple methods of multi-locus DNA sequence analysis: A case study of the genus Giraffa (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla)". PLOS ONE. 15 (2): e0217956. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1517956P. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217956 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   7018015 . PMID   32053589.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Muller, Z.; Bercovitch, F.; Brand, R.; Brown, D.; Brown, M.; Bolger, D.; Carter, K.; Deacon, F.; Doherty, J.B.; Fennessy, J.; Fennessy, S.; Hussein, A.A.; Lee, D.; Marais, A.; Strauss, M.; Tutchings, A.; Wube, T. (2016). "Giraffa camelopardalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T9194A51140239. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  4. ↑ Bercovitch, Fred B.; Berry, Philip S.M.; Dagg, Anne; Deacon, Francois; Doherty, John B.; Lee, Derek E.; Mineur, Frédéric; Muller, Zoe; Ogden, Rob (2017-02-20). "How many species of giraffe are there?". Current Biology. 27 (4): R136 –R137. Bibcode:2017CBio...27.R136B. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.12.039 . hdl: 20.500.11820/4c828f1a-f644-4268-9197-eb50244a1d75 . ISSN   0960-9822. PMID   28222287.
  5. ↑ "Four giraffe species officially recognised in major conservation reclassification – IUCN report". 21 August 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Fennessy J.; Bidon T.; Reuss F.; Kumar V.; Elkan P.; Nilsson M.A.; Vamberger M.; Fritz U.; Janke A. (2016). "Multi-locus Analyses Reveal Four Giraffe Species Instead of One". Current Biology. 26 (18): 2543–2549. Bibcode:2016CBio...26.2543F. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.036 . PMID   27618261.
  7. ↑ Dagg, A. I. (1971). "Giraffa camelopardalis" (PDF). Mammalian Species (5): 1–8. doi:10.2307/3503830. JSTOR   3503830. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  8. ↑ Brown, David M.; Brenneman, Rick A.; Koepfli, Klaus-Peter; Pollinger, John P.; Milá, Borja; Georgiadis, Nicholas J.; Louis, Edward E.; Grether, Gregory F.; Jacobs, David K. (2007-01-01). "Extensive population genetic structure in the giraffe". BMC Biology. 5 57. doi: 10.1186/1741-7007-5-57 . ISSN   1741-7007. PMC   2254591 . PMID   18154651.
  9. ↑ Brenneman, R. A.; Louis, E. E. Jr; Fennessy, J. (2009). "Genetic structure of two populations of the Namibian giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis". African Journal of Ecology. 47 (4): 720–28. Bibcode:2009AfJEc..47..720B. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2009.01078.x.
  10. 1 2 3 Seymour, R. (2002) The taxonomic status of the giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis (L. 1758), PH.D Thesis
  11. ↑ "Malawi Gains New Giraffe Population in Majete Wildlife Reserve". www.africanparks.org. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  12. ↑ Milk (2021-10-11). "Giraffe In Zinave - Peace Parks" . Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  13. ↑ "Giraffe Reintroduced to Angola's Iona National Park". www.africanparks.org. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
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