West African giraffe
West African giraffe | |
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Near Kouré, Niger | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Giraffidae |
Genus: | Giraffa |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | G. c. peralta
|
Trinomial name | |
Giraffa camelopardalis peralta Thomas, 1898
| |
Range in dark orange |
The West African giraffe (Giraffa peralta[2] or Giraffa camelopardalis peralta), also known as the Niger giraffe[1] is a species or subspecies of the giraffe distinguished by its light colored spots. Its last self-sustaining herd is in southwest Niger, supported by a series of refuges in Dosso Region and the tourist center at Kouré, some 80km southeast of Niamey.[3][4]
In the 19th century it ranged from Senegal to Lake Chad,[5] yet in 2011 this subspecies only survives in a few isolated pockets containing about 400 individuals in total.[6] All captive so-called "West African giraffe" are now known to be the Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum).[5]
Evolutionary history
Older studies on giraffe subspecies have caused some researchers to question the separate status of G. c. peralta and the Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum). Genetic testing published in 2007 confirmed the distinctiveness of the West African giraffe.[5][7][8][9]
Most captive giraffes from northwestern Africa are in French zoological parks, a result of the French colonies in West Africa. Those giraffes were formerly treated as G. c. peralta. However, since genetic analysis revealed that only giraffes to the west of Lake Chad belong to this subspecies, the populations in European zoos are in fact Kordofan giraffes (G. c. antiquorum). The West African giraffe is more closely related to the giraffes of East Africa than to those of Central Africa. Its ancestor may have migrated from East to North Africa during the Quaternary and then to West Africa with the development of the Sahara desert. At its largest, Lake Chad may have acted as a barrier between West African and Kordofan giraffes during the Holocene.[5]
Distribution and habitat
The Nigerien giraffe population relies upon seasonal migration between the relatively drought-resistant lowlands of the Niger River valley and the drier highlands near Kouré. In this area, Tiger bush habitat allows bands of trees to thrive in climates which might otherwise become more typical desert.
Former range
Before
Ecology and behaviour
The West African giraffe survive primarily on a diet of leaves from
Conservation
In the mid-1990s there were only 49 in the whole of
References
- ^ .
- ISBN 9781421400938.
- ^ a b Niger : la population des girafes augmente de 24% en 2011 (officiel) Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Xinhua, 2012-03-01.
- ^ a b c Galadima, Mariama (16 July 2008). "Le Sanctuaire des Girafes". Centre d'Echange d'Informations sur la Biodiversité du Niger.
- ^ PMID 17434121.
- ^ PMID 27618261.
- PMID 18154651.
- ^ "Not one but 'six giraffe species'". BBC News (21 December 2007)
- ^ "Giraffes and Frogs Provide More Evidence of New Species Hidden in Plain Sight". ScienceDaily (21 December 2007)
- ISBN 978-1-84162-152-4
- ^ "Northern giraffe: Giraffa camelopardalis". Giraffe Conservation Foundation. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ Projet d’étude et de conservation des Girafes du Niger, Association pour la Sauvegarde des Girafes du Niger (2007).
- ^ Müller-Jung, Friederike (26 September 2016). "Niger: Giraffes Make an Impressive Comeback in Niger". AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
Further reading
- I. Ciofolo. "West Africa's Last Giraffes: The Conflict between Development and Conservation," Journal of Tropical Ecology, Vol. 11, No. 4 (November 1995), pp. 577–588
- Yvonnick Le Pendu and Isabelle Ciofolo (1999). Seasonal movements of giraffes in Niger. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 15, pp 341–353
External links
- Media related to Nigerian Giraffes at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Giraffa camelopardalis peralta at Wikispecies
- West African Giraffe Photos & facts on African Wildlife Foundation's website