Saturday, June 22, 2019

Species profile: Reticulated giraffe

Hello again, welcome back to animals under threat. Today, we will be covering a giraffe species in Africa that is under threat from loss of habitat. Please welcome, the Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata).


The Reticulated Giraffe is a subspecies of giraffe that is native to the Horn of Africa. It belongs to the family Giraffidae and shares a common ancestor with cervids (deer) and bovids (bison, sheep etc.). It is one of the tallest animals on earth and is characterized its long neck, short tufted mane, two/four skin covered horns on its head and large polygonal brown coloured spots outlined by white lines (giraffe, 2008).
Photo of giraffes by Brandt Luke Zorn. Horn of Africa by Skilla1st.

The Reticulated Giraffe lives in savannahs, woodlands, rainforests, and seasonal flood plains where food is available. They live in small groups and most of them are females with young. Male Reticulated Giraffes travel alone and fight other males by butting each other with their long necks and head. This fight usually ends with one male submitting and walking away. However, in rare cases the fights can lead to serious injuries and death (Muneza et al. 2019). The giraffe’s height allows it to reach the top of acacias trees and feed on the leaves using their 21-inch tongue. However, their height is also a disadvantage as they have to spread their front legs and bend down to reach water from rivers or lakes. This leads them to be vulnerable to predators such as lions, or African wild dogs (2019, national geographic).
Giraffe with tongue sticking out by Tanya Dewey and giraffe eating by Kay Holekamp.

This Giraffe species is under threat from habitat loss and poaching. Giraffe’s have been hunted for their meat, hide and tails. Giraffe tail’s have been used to make good luck bracelets, fly whisks and thread for sewing. This had led to giraffe’s been hunted just for their tails alone. Loss of habitat has resulted in a loss of the acacias trees and space which the giraffes need to survive. Giraffes need large areas to travel and increasing farmlands and urban housing has led to giraffes enter human areas.

Next time, we will be covering a species of elephant that has come under threat from poaching.

References

giraffe. (2008). In Philip's encyclopedia. [Online]. London: Philip's. Available from: https://elibrary.jcu.edu.au/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/philipency/giraffe/0?institutionId=429 [Accessed 23 June 2019].


Muneza, A., Doherty, J.B., Hussein Ali, A., Fennessy, J., Marais, A., O'Connor, D. & Wube, T. 2018. Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. reticulata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T88420717A88420720. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T88420717A88420720.en. Downloaded on 23 June 2019.

Picture references


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