{"id":86540,"date":"2025-08-21T15:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T15:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/86540\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T15:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T15:44:09","slug":"three-more-giraffe-species-than-previously-thought-scientists-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/86540\/","title":{"rendered":"Three more giraffe species than previously thought, scientists say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Georgina Rannard<\/p>\n

Climate and science correspondent<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Brown<\/p>\n

Giraffes in Uganda’s Kidepo Valley<\/p>\n

Giraffes are one of the world’s most distinct and well-loved creatures, always thought to be one species.<\/p>\n

But now scientists at the International Union for Conservation of Nature say we can welcome three more species of the world’s tallest mammal.<\/p>\n

It’s not the first time researchers have suggested there are four species of these giants strolling on our planet, but the latest assessment puts an official stamp on it.<\/p>\n

How did scientists work it out? And what does it mean for the future of the animal?<\/p>\n

Scientists compared the skull size and head shape of different giraffes and concluded there was enough genetic diversity for four groups to be considered as different species.<\/p>\n

The researchers looked at natural features across Africa such as deserts, rivers and valleys that could have separated animals in the past, meaning they evolved separately from each other.<\/p>\n

Say hello to the Southern giraffe, one of the newly-recognised species.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Brown<\/p>\n

A Southern giraffe, pictured in Namibia<\/p>\n

This giraffe lives in South Africa, Angola, southern Botswana, Namibia, southern Zimbabwe, Zambia, and southwestern Mozambique.<\/p>\n

Two rivers (the Kunene and Zambezi) and rainforests in the Congo Basin probably separated the animals from overlapping with other giraffes.<\/p>\n

The second new species is the Reticulated giraffe.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Brown<\/p>\n

Reticulated giraffe in Kenya<\/p>\n

This giraffe lives in the open savannas and wooded grasslands of Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

Scientists think the Tana river, Ethiopia’s mountains and towns separated this animal from other giraffes in the north of the region.<\/p>\n

It is also a migrating animal, which means it may have passed by other giraffes when it could have cross-bred.<\/p>\n

The third species we can officially recognise is the Northern giraffe.<\/p>\n

\"GettyGetty Images<\/p>\n

Northern giraffe<\/p>\n

This animal lives in western Ethiopia, central and western Kenya, eastern South Sudan and Uganda.<\/p>\n

Scientists say the Nile River and Lake Victoria, as well as its migration pattern, separated this giraffe from others.<\/p>\n

The fourth and final species is the beautiful Masai giraffe, with its distinctive leaf-pattern hide.<\/p>\n

\"GettyGetty Images<\/p>\n

Masai giraffe in Kenya<\/p>\n

It lives in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, separated from the Northern giraffe by Lake Victoria and the Nile River.<\/p>\n

Although its pattern makes it seem like it could be a marker of being a separate species, the scientists say that the hides vary even within one population of giraffes and as the animals age.<\/p>\n

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says that identifying genetic difference is “vital” for conservation and managing giraffe populations. <\/p>\n

“The more precisely we understand giraffe taxonomy, the better equipped we are to assess their status and implement effective conservation strategies,” said co-author of the report Michael Brown of the IUCN.<\/a><\/p>\n

As a single species, the giraffe was classed as vulnerable to extinction, although some of the sub-species were increasing in numbers.<\/p>\n

The IUCN will now re-assess the vulnerability of the four new species and their sub-species and says it hopes to better protect the majestic animals with the new information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Georgina Rannard Climate and science correspondent Michael Brown Giraffes in Uganda’s Kidepo Valley Giraffes are one of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-86540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}