Giraffa camelopardalis

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CETARTIODACTYLA	GIRAFFIDAE

Scientific Name:

Giraffa camelopardalis

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Infra-specific Taxa Assessed:

See Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. peralta

Common Name/s:

English

–

Giraffe

Taxonomic Notes:

A number of subspecies classifications have been proposed for Giraffe (e.g., Ansell 1972, Dagg and Foster 1982, Kingdon 1997, East 1999, Grubb 2005). There is considerable uncertainty surrounding the geographic and taxonomic limits of all described subspecies. Furthermore, recent genetic work suggests that several subspecies may even represent distinct species (Brown et al. 2007). The recent review of Ciofolo and Pendu (in press) recognizes eight subspecies; of these, only the form peralta from West Africa, which recent genetic evidence has confirmed is indeed distinct (Hassanin et al. 2007), is here assessed at the subspecies level.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2008

Assessor/s

Fennessy, J. & Brown, D.

Evaluator/s:

Mallon, D. (Antelope Specialist Group) and Hoffmann, M. (Global Mammal Assessment)

Justification:
Provisionally listed as Least Concern as the species remains widespread, with a total population numbering more than 100,000 individuals. However, a recent preliminary population estimate suggests a decline in the total population has taken place which, if substantiated, could mean that the species will warrant listing in a higher category of threat. Some populations remain stable or are even increasing, but others are clearly in a more precarious position (and may well be threatened). Ongoing efforts to census the continent's giraffe populations will allow more accurate assessment of the species' overall conservation status, as well as described subspecies in future.

History:

1996

–

Lower Risk/conservation dependent

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Giraffe formerly occurred arid and dry-savanna zones of sub-Saharan Africa, wherever trees occur. Today, its range has contracted markedly with the expansion of human populations, especially in West Africa. In West Africa, Giraffe formerly ranged from Senegal to Lake Chad, but the only viable surviving population within this entire area is a small population in south-western Niger with a range of about 15,000 km² (Boulet et al. 2004). This represents the only surviving wild population of G. c. peralta; a small population observed in the Ansongo-Menaka Partial Faunal Reserve in Mali, on the border of Niger, is presumed to be extinct. Giraffe are still present in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, Central African Republic and in Garamba N. P. in north-eastern DR Congo (East 1999); there is limited information on their occurrence in Sudan, west of the Nile (where they were not recorded at all during the course of recent surveys), but they do still occur in the south-east (in Boma N.P.) (Fay et al. 2007). In East and north-east Africa, Giraffe still occur in relatively large numbers in northern Kenya, mainly outside protected areas, in south-western and southern Ethiopia, Somalia, and in small numbers in a few protected areas in Uganda; they are now extinct in Eritrea. They remain relatively widely distributed through southern Kenya and Tanzania. There is an isolated population of Giraffe (Thornicroft’s Giraffe G. c. thornicrofti) in the Luangwa Valley (Zambia). In southern Africa, having been reintroduced to many parts of the range from which they were eliminated, Giraffes are currently common both inside and outside a number of protected areas in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. In Angola, the Giraffe is now assumed to be extinct. A few animals are reported to still survive in Sioma Ngwezi N. P. in south-western Zambia, while in Mozambique, a few individuals still occur in the area adjacent to Kruger N. P. Giraffe have been introduced to Swaziland (Ciofolo and Pendu in press).
Countries:	Native: Botswana; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Ethiopia; Kenya; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Possibly extinct: Angola; Mali; Nigeria Regionally extinct: Burkina Faso; Eritrea; Guinea; Malawi; Mauritania; Senegal Introduced: Rwanda; Swaziland
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	East (1999) estimated the total population at about 140,000 animals, predominantly in areas dominated by Acacia woodlands and shrublands. More recent preliminary estimates put the total population at less than 100,000 animals (International Giraffe Working Group pers. comm.); efforts are currently under way to census the continent’s populations more accurately (Fennessy 2007) which will enable a more thorough determination of the conservation status of the species and subspecies. The population in Niger (estimated to number 79 animals in 1999 (Ciofolo et al. 2000), has since increased to more than 160 animals in 2007 (Ciofolo and Pendu in press).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population:

East (1999) estimated the total population at about 140,000 animals, predominantly in areas dominated by Acacia woodlands and shrublands. More recent preliminary estimates put the total population at less than 100,000 animals (International Giraffe Working Group pers. comm.); efforts are currently under way to census the continent’s populations more accurately (Fennessy 2007) which will enable a more thorough determination of the conservation status of the species and subspecies. The population in Niger (estimated to number 79 animals in 1999 (Ciofolo et al. 2000), has since increased to more than 160 animals in 2007 (Ciofolo and Pendu in press).

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Typically associated with Acacia, Commiphora and Combretum savannas, but they also occur marginally in miombo Brachystegia woodland and in Isoberlina woodland (in Cameroon) (Ciofolo and Pendu in press). Giraffes are selective browsers, with Acacia species forming the bulk of their diet throughout the range, but also species of the genera Balanites, Commiphora, Detarium, Boscia, Combretum, Ziziphus and Grewia (Ciofolo and Pendu in press).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

Typically associated with Acacia, Commiphora and Combretum savannas, but they also occur marginally in miombo Brachystegia woodland and in Isoberlina woodland (in Cameroon) (Ciofolo and Pendu in press). Giraffes are selective browsers, with Acacia species forming the bulk of their diet throughout the range, but also species of the genera Balanites, Commiphora, Detarium, Boscia, Combretum, Ziziphus and Grewia (Ciofolo and Pendu in press).

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	While southern populations are increasing in abundance, northern populations have been decreasing due to habitat degradation and poaching. For example, poaching and armed conflict across the range of the Reticulated Giraffe in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya has reduced numbers to perhaps fewer than 3000 individuals (see Fennessy 2007).

Major Threat(s):

While southern populations are increasing in abundance, northern populations have been decreasing due to habitat degradation and poaching. For example, poaching and armed conflict across the range of the Reticulated Giraffe in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya has reduced numbers to perhaps fewer than 3000 individuals (see Fennessy 2007).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	East (1999) estimated that around 40% of the total population survived in and around protected areas, with the main strongholds including: Waza N. P. and the hunting zones of North Province (Cameroon); Zakouma N. P. (Chad); Murchison Falls N. P. (Uganda); Boma N. P. (Sudan); South Luangwa N. P. (Zambia); and, in southern Africa, Etosha N. P. (Namibia), Hwange N. P. (Zimbabwe) and Kruger N. P. (South Africa) (East 1999; Ciofolo and Pendu in press). Some of the major protected populations have decreased during the 1990s in national parks such as Serengeti (Tanzania) and Tsavo (Kenya). In Niger, conservation projects have facilitated the Niger Giraffe’s population recovery in an area outside any formal protected park or reserve. However, poaching and habitat loss and degradation as a result of increased aridity, and expansion of human activities remain threats (Ciofolo and Pendu in press). This small population survives only in the wild, since the Giraffes held in captivity in the Vincennes Zoo, France, which were long considered to represent peralta, in fact belong to the subspecies antiquorum (Hassanin et al. 2007).

Conservation Actions:

East (1999) estimated that around 40% of the total population survived in and around protected areas, with the main strongholds including: Waza N. P. and the hunting zones of North Province (Cameroon); Zakouma N. P. (Chad); Murchison Falls N. P. (Uganda); Boma N. P. (Sudan); South Luangwa N. P. (Zambia); and, in southern Africa, Etosha N. P. (Namibia), Hwange N. P. (Zimbabwe) and Kruger N. P. (South Africa) (East 1999; Ciofolo and Pendu in press). Some of the major protected populations have decreased during the 1990s in national parks such as Serengeti (Tanzania) and Tsavo (Kenya).

In Niger, conservation projects have facilitated the Niger Giraffe’s population recovery in an area outside any formal protected park or reserve. However, poaching and habitat loss and degradation as a result of increased aridity, and expansion of human activities remain threats (Ciofolo and Pendu in press). This small population survives only in the wild, since the Giraffes held in captivity in the Vincennes Zoo, France, which were long considered to represent peralta, in fact belong to the subspecies antiquorum (Hassanin et al. 2007).

Citation:	Fennessy, J. & Brown, D. 2008. Giraffa camelopardalis. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 November 2009.
Disclaimer:	To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>.
Feedback:	If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided