Nine Species Of Giraffes
The tallest animal that exists – it can reach six meters – and which is characterized by its long neck and beautiful fur only lives in the wild in different regions of Africa. On this continent we can identify various species of giraffes, each with a different ‘pattern’ on its body. Get to know them below!
How many species of giraffes are there?
Fascinating and beautiful at the same time, the giraffe can be admired on typical African safaris through various national parks. Basically, we can differentiate them from each other by the patterns of the coat and the color that these spots present.
Since they can mate with each other, they have created new subspecies or what is known as ‘hybridization’ (a combination of two patterns), so it is quite difficult to differentiate them on many occasions because the differences between them can be very slight.
With its long legs and XL neck, this mammal walks or gallops depending on the occasion and can reach the highest branches of trees in search of leaves and tender shoots. They can spend several hours a day ruminating!
Known giraffe species are as follows:
1. Nubian
It lives in Ethiopia and Sudan, and it differs from other giraffes because its spots are irregular square in shape and dark brown in color (with a light background), which do not appear on the belly, the inside of the thighs and below the knees. .
2. From Kordofan
It is not very frequent since its population is small and it is quite dispersed in the Congo, Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic. It is less muscular than the others and its spots become more irregular on the belly and legs.
3. From West Africa
It is endemic to the region and its habitat includes three countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger (previously living in Nigeria). It is one of the endangered giraffe species and differs from the others by having reddish spots on a light yellow background.
4. De Rothschild
It is named after the British zoologist Walter Rothschild and lives in protected areas in both Uganda and Kenya. Although it is not at risk of becoming extinct, the reduction of pure specimens due to the crossing with other species of giraffe in the region is striking.
5. Reticulated
Native to Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, this giraffe is one of the best known. Their fur is characterized by liver-colored spots that form a perfect ‘pattern’ between them. It is one of the tallest species, and the males perform a ritual known as ‘strangulation’, in which they smash their necks to determine who gets the females of the pack.
6. Masai
It is the largest among the giraffe species and, although it lived throughout the continent, it currently only resides in Kenya and Tanzania. The spots on their body are ‘jagged’ and they have the ability to kill a predator with a kick if attacked when there are young nearby.
7. From Zambia
Also known as Rhodesian, it lives only in Zambia, specifically in the South Luangwa National Park. The spots on his body are dark and the background is very light; males are darker.
8. From South Africa
It lives throughout the southern region of the continent: Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. It differs from the other species because its spots are round or in the shape of a ‘star’, and appear even on the feet and hooves.
9. From Angola
The smoked giraffe is found in Angola, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia. One of the peculiarities compared to the other species is that their spots are regular and ‘serrated’, in addition that they fade towards the edges and are shaped like a tree leaf on the back of the body. They can be seen in Etosha National Park.
