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New research found that many giraffes in U.S. zoos and private collections aren\u2019t pure representatives of their species. <\/p>\n
Instead, they\u2019re a mix \u2013 a genetic patchwork that makes them a lot less useful when it comes to helping wild giraffe populations<\/a> survive.<\/p>\n Not one giraffe species, but four<\/p>\n For a long time, scientists thought all giraffes belonged to a single species. They were split into different subspecies based on where they lived, but that was about it. <\/p>\n New DNA research changed that. We now know giraffes fall into four separate species that barely interbreed in the wild.<\/p>\n That\u2019s important because it means each species has its own genetic identity. Mixing them up doesn\u2019t preserve them \u2013 it erases their uniqueness. <\/p>\n Earlier this year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) officially recognized all four giraffe species and listed them as vulnerable. Some are even critically endangered<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are only about 97,500 giraffes left in the wild, spread across 21 African countries. With numbers like that, every individual counts.<\/p>\n Captive giraffes: A tangled mix<\/p>\n Researchers studied the DNA of 52 giraffes living in U.S. zoos and private ranches. They compared those results with DNA from 63 wild giraffes representing all four species. What they found was a mess.<\/p>\n Wesley Au, the study\u2019s lead author, is a\u00a0doctoral researcher in the\u00a0informatics program\u00a0at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly eight giraffes got close to representing a single species \u2013 reaching about a 90% match \u2013 but the rest were a mix of two and sometimes three species,\u201d said Au.<\/p>\n Most of the zoo giraffes were hybrids<\/p>\n Instead of representing clean genetic lines that could help repopulate wild groups, most zoo giraffes had become hybrids \u2013 blends of different species that don\u2019t exist naturally. And it wasn\u2019t just a recent issue.<\/p>\n Back in 2004, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA<\/a>) decided to stop keeping giraffe subspecies separate. Instead, they started treating them all as one big group for breeding purposes. <\/p>\n At the time, many giraffes were already mixed, and it wasn\u2019t yet clear that these animals belonged to separate species.<\/p>\n \u201cThe AZA decision acknowledged that hybridization<\/a> was already extensive within its giraffe population,\u201d said Alfred Roca, senior author of the study. <\/p>\n \u201cAdditionally, I\u2019m not sure it was obvious in 2004 that the animals were from such disparate genetic stocks. Those studies came later, so it\u2019s not surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n Why this matters for conservation<\/p>\n If zoos want to be part of long-term conservation efforts<\/a>, their giraffe populations need to reflect what\u2019s in the wild. Right now, they don\u2019t. <\/p>\n According to the researchers, captive breeding programs should think about starting over \u2013 with fresh genetic material.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean the giraffes in zoos aren\u2019t important. They still have educational and emotional value. Some may even be used in the future as surrogates for embryos created from wild giraffe DNA.<\/p>\n But the current situation won\u2019t help save any of the four species. Without clean genetics, these animals can\u2019t be used to restock wild populations or support wild species that are close to disappearing.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times, decisions to breed animals are based on, \u2018She\u2019s a nice female, he\u2019s a nice male. Let\u2019s put them together for breeding,\u2019\u201d said Kari Morfeld, reproductive physiologist and co-author of the study. <\/p>\n \u201cThe genetics aren\u2019t usually considered in making breeding decisions for giraffes, but they should be. We have a responsibility to consider genetics, not only demeanor or physical characteristics, to do better for giraffe conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n Can the problem be fixed?<\/p>\n One possible fix is to use technology instead of transporting animals. Moving adult giraffes between continents is hard. They\u2019re huge, expensive to ship, and not easy to handle.<\/p>\n \u201cPhysically moving these huge animals between continents would be difficult. So, a better way, in my opinion, is to develop reproductive technologies where you can move semen or embryos and proceed with artificial insemination<\/a>, IVF, and embryo transfer,\u201d said Morfeld.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do this all the time in livestock<\/a> and other species. There\u2019s no reason this can\u2019t be applied to giraffes.\u201d<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s not just about the science. Morfeld noted that it really comes down to establishing trusting relationships with African governments, conservation organizations, and scientists.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to conduct an artificial insemination, but you really have to ask the question of how all stakeholders will benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n The full study was published in the Journal of Heredity<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Check us out on EarthSnap<\/a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls<\/a> and Earth.com.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Giraffes have long been part of zoo life, often seen as gentle giants helping spark interest in wildlife…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-264238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}