Giraffes (genus Giraffa) are large African hoofed mammals. They are the tallest living terrestrial animals and the largest ruminants on Earth. They are classified under the family Giraffidae, along with their closest extant relative, the okapi. Traditionally, giraffes have been thought of as one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into four extant species, with seven subspecies, which can be distinguished morphologically by their fur coat patterns. Six valid extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.
The distinguishing characteristics of giraffes are their extremely long neck and legs, horn-like ossicones, and spotted coat patterns. Their scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other ground-based herbivores cannot reach. Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males but are gregarious and may gather in large groups. Males establish social hierarchies through "necking", combat bouts in which they use the neck as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for rearing the young.
Giraffes have intrigued various ancient and modern cultures for their peculiar appearance and have often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. They have been extirpated from many parts of their former range. Giraffes are still found in many national parks and game reserves, and estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in 2010.
Etymology The name "giraffe" has its earliest known origins in the Arabic word (), of an ultimately unclear Sub-Saharan African language origin. The Middle English and early Modern English spellings, and , derive from the Arabic form-based Spanish and Portuguese girafa. The modern English form developed around 1600 from the French .
"Camelopard" () is an archaic English name for the giraffe; it derives from the Ancient Greek (), from (), "camel", and (), "leopard", referring to its camel-like shape and leopard-like colouration.
Taxonomy
Carl Linnaeus originally classified living giraffes as one species in 1758. He gave it the binomial name Cervus camelopardalis. Mathurin Jacques Brisson coined the generic name Giraffa in 1762. During the 1900s, various taxonomies with two or three species were proposed. A 2007 study on the genetics of giraffes using mitochondrial DNA suggested at least six lineages could be recognised as species. A 2011 study using detailed analyses of the morphology of giraffes, and application of the phylogenetic species concept, described eight species of living giraffes. A 2016 study also concluded that living giraffes consist of multiple species. The researchers suggested the existence of four species, which have not exchanged genetic information between each other for one to two million years.
A 2020 study showed that, depending on the method chosen, different taxonomic hypotheses recognizing from two to six species can be considered for the genus Giraffa. That study also found that multi-species coalescent methods can lead to taxonomic over-splitting, as those methods delimit geographic structures rather than species. The three-species hypothesis, which recognises G. camelopardalis, G. giraffa, and G. tippelskirchi, is highly supported by phylogenetic analyses and also corroborated by most population genetic and multi-species coalescent analyses. A 2021 whole genome sequencing study suggests the existence of four distinct species and seven subspecies, which was supported by a 2024 study of cranial morphology. A 2024 study found a higher amount of ancient gene flow than expected between populations.
The cladogram below shows the phylogenetic relationship between the four species and seven subspecies based on a 2021 genome analysis. The eight lineages correspond to eight traditional subspecies in the one-species hypothesis. The Rothschild giraffe is subsumed into G. camelopardalis camelopardalis.
The following table compares the different hypotheses for giraffe species. The description column shows the traditional nine subspecies in the one-species hypothesis.
+ Species and subspecies of giraffe Description Image Eight species taxonomy Four species taxonomy Three species taxonomy The Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum) has a distribution which includes southern Chad, the Central African Republic, northern Cameroon, and the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Populations in Cameroon were formerly included in G. c. peralta, but this was incorrect. Compared to the Nubian giraffe, this subspecies has smaller and more irregular spotting patterns. Its spots are present on insides of the legs, sometimes below the hocks. A median lump is present in males. Some 2,000 are believed to remain in the wild. Considerable confusion has existed over the status of this subspecies and G. c. peralta in zoos. In 2007, all alleged G. c. peralta in European zoos were shown to be, in fact, G. c. antiquorum. With this correction, about 65 are living in zoos.Kordofan giraffe (G. antiquorum)Swaison 1835. Camelopardalis antiquorum. Bagger el Homer, Kordofan, about 10° N, 28° E (as fixed by Harper, 1940) Northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis) The Nubian giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis), occurs in eastern South Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. It has sharp-edged chestnut-coloured spots surrounded by mostly white lines, while undersides lack spotting. A lump is prominent in the middle of the male's head. Around 2,150 individuals are thought to remain in the wild. The Rothschild's and Nubian giraffes are very common in captivity, although the original phenotype is rare, and a group is kept at Al Ain Zoo in the United Arab Emirates.Nubian giraffe (G. camelopardalis)
Also known as Baringo giraffe or Ugandan giraffeRothschild's giraffe (G. c. rothschildi) has large dark patches with normally well-defined edges but sometimes split. The dark spots may also have swirls of pale colour within them. Spotting rarely reaches below the hocks and rarely to the hooves. This ecotype may also develop five "horns". It may be an ecotype of the Nubian giraffe. Its range includes parts of Uganda and Kenya. Its presence in South Sudan is uncertain. Around 1,500 individuals are thought to remain in the wild, and more than 450 are living in zoos. According to genetic analysis, it is conspecific with the Nubian giraffe. The West African giraffe (G. c. peralta) is endemic to southwestern Niger. It has a lighter fur than other subspecies, with red lobe-shaped blotches that reach under the hocks. The ossicones are more erect than in other subspecies, and males have well-developed median lumps. It is the most endangered subspecies within Giraffa, with 400 individuals remaining in the wild. Giraffes in Cameroon were formerly thought to belong to this subspecies, but are actually G. c. antiquorum. This error resulted in some confusion over its status in zoos, but in 2007 it was established that all "G. c. peralta" kept in European zoos are actually G. c. antiquorum. The West African giraffe is more closely related to Rothschild's giraffe than the Kordofan, and its ancestor may have migrated from eastern to northern Africa and then west as the Sahara Desert spread, and Lake Chad may have acted as a boundary between the West African and Kordofan giraffes during the Holocene.West African giraffe (G. peralta),
Also known as Niger giraffe or Nigerian giraffe The reticulated giraffe (G. c. reticulata) is native to northeastern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, and Somalia. Its distinctive coat pattern consists of sharp-edged, reddish-brown polygonal patches surrounded by thin white lines. Spots may or may not extend under the hocks, and a median lump is present in males. An estimated 8,660 individuals remain in the wild, and more than 450 were living in zoos as of 2010. The reticulated giraffe is the result of hybridisation between northern and southern giraffe lineages. Reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata),
Also known as Somali giraffe The Angolan giraffe (G. c. angolensis) occurs in northern Namibia, southwestern Zambia, central Botswana, western Zimbabwe, southern Zimbabwe and in Angola In 2009, it has been suggested that the northern Namib Desert and Etosha National Park populations form a separate subspecies. This subspecies is white with large brown blotches with pointed or cut edges. The spotting pattern extends throughout the legs but not the upper part of the face. The neck and rump patches tend to be fairly small. The subspecies also has a white ear mark. About 13,000 individuals are estimated to remain in the wild, and about 20 are living in zoos.Angolan giraffe (G. angolensis)
Also known as Namibian giraffeSouthern giraffe (G. giraffa) The South African giraffe (G. c. giraffa) occurs in northern South Africa, southern Botswana, northern Botswana and southwestern Mozambique. It has a tawny background colour marked with dark, somewhat rounded patches "with some fine projections". The spots extend down the legs, growing smaller as they do. The median lump of males is relatively small. A maximum of 31,500 individuals are estimated to remain in the wild, and around 45 are living in zoos.South African giraffe (G. giraffa)
Also known as Cape giraffe The Masai giraffe (G. c. tippelskirchi) occurs in central and southern Kenya and in Tanzania. Its coat pattern is diverse, with spots ranging from mostly rounded and smooth-edged to oval-shaped and incised or loped-edged. A median lump is usually present in males. A total of 32,550 individuals are thought to remain in the wild, and about 100 are living in zoos.Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi)
Also known as Kilimanjaro giraffeMasai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi) The Rhodesian giraffe (G. c. thornicrofti) is restricted to the Luangwa River Valley in eastern Zambia. It has notched and somewhat star-shaped patches which may extend across the legs. The median lump of males is modestly sized. No more than 550 individuals remain in the wild, but none in zoos. It was named after Harry Scott Thornicroft.Thornicroft's giraffe ("G. thornicrofti") Also known as Luangwa giraffe or Rhodesian giraffe
The first extinct species to be described was Giraffa sivalensis from India, the holotype of which was reevaluated as a vertebra of separate species within the genus that was initially described as a fossil of the living giraffe. Another extinct species Giraffa punjabiensis is known from Pakistan. Four other valid extinct species of Giraffa in Africa are Giraffa gracilis, Giraffa jumae, Giraffa pygmaea and Giraffa stillei. "G." pomeli from Algeria and Tunisia is not a Giraffinae species, but a Palaeotraginae species related to Mitilanotherium.
Evolution Giraffes, along with the okapi, are the only living members of family Giraffidae in the order Artiodactyla. They are ruminants of the clade Pecora, along with Antilocapridae (pronghorns), Cervidae (deer), Bovidae (cattle, antelope, goats and sheep) and Moschidae (musk deer). A 2019 genome study (cladogram below) finds that Giraffidae are a sister taxon to Antilocapridae, with an estimated split of over 20 million years ago.