Scientists have, in a genetic analysis, found that giraffes are actually not one species, but four.
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Researchers were shocked to find out that giraffes were in fact completely different from one another, and there were four different types of species in the findings. Given how mobile giraffes are, one would expect a lot of interbreeding, so the researchers were surprised by how different the DNA could be-some genetic differences greater than those between a grizzly and a polar bear, which are separate species.
“We found that there are not only one but at least four genetically highly distinct groups of giraffe, which apparently do not mate with each other in the wild”, said study co-author and Goethe University professor Axel Janke, in a statement. “The decline in giraffe populations has been so dramatic that two or three of these species could disappear by the end of this century”. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) now recognises giraffes (one species) as “least concern”, a designation that some biologists say diminishes the risks these animals face due to habitat loss, illegal hunting and poaching.
When he looked at the genetic samples provided by Dr. Fennessy, Janke realized there were significant differences between groups of giraffes that conservationists would have to take into account when devising strategies to help giraffe populations remain at sustainable numbers. These four new species include the southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi), reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata), and northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis). The northern giraffe species includes the Nubian giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis), a rare subspecies.
“People need to really figure out that giraffes are in danger”. The new study, however, suggests the giraffe family tree looks a little different. “Now that we’re proposing four new species, I think there’s even more reason”.
“With now four distinct species, the conservation status of each of these can be better defined and in turn added to the IUCN Red List”, Fennessy says. They’re also a vivid illustration of how much we still have left to do to ensure that giraffes won’t disappear because of poaching and habitat loss.
The study is particularly important for the conservation of the giraffe. Well, the team’s recommendation of four separate species of giraffe will have to be approved independently to be made official, but once that happens, it’s hoped that the conservation status of each species will be reviewed separately so we have a more accurate indication of the kind of shape they’re in.
This classification means giraffes have not been receiving almost as much attention as African elephants and rhinos, for example, because everyone basically assumed they’d be fine for now. Just two subspecies are now listed as “endangered”. Until now, only one giraffe species had been recognized.
Amato notes strong parallels between giraffes and African elephants, which were classified as a single species until a 2010 study provided genetic evidence that there were actually two: forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis)and savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana).
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This is a clear indication that they have evolved into distinct species. “As an example”, Fennessy said in the press release, “northern giraffe number less than 4,750 in wild, reticulated less than 8700, making them some of the most endangered large mammals in the world”.
