West African giraffe
| West African giraffe | ||||||||||||
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West African Giraffe in Niger |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Giraffa camelopardalis peralta | ||||||||||||
| ( Thomas , 1898) |
The West African giraffe or Nigerien giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis peralta ) is, according to the latest findings, an independent subspecies of the northern giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis ).
distribution
The West African giraffe was once found in large parts of West Africa. The giraffes of the Sahel region east of Lake Chad , such as those in the Waza National Park , were originally assigned to this subspecies.
According to genetic studies, the giraffes of the Sahel zone, which live east of Lake Chad, do not belong to the West African subspecies G. c. peralta , but to that of the Kordofan giraffes ( Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum ). West African giraffes would then also not be found in European zoological gardens, but at most Kordofan giraffes.
Danger
In the mid-1990s, fewer than 50 individuals of the West African giraffe lived in Niger due to habitat destruction and poaching . Meanwhile, the population in the Niamey region has increased to more than 220. This was mainly due to a ban on hunting giraffes and financial support from the local population. The aim is to achieve a population of at least 400 animals so that the survival of this subspecies is ensured in the long term.
Keeping in zoological gardens
Due to the low number of wild animals, West African giraffes are rarely kept in zoological gardens.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Julian Fennessy, Tobias Bidon, Friederike Reuss, Vikas Kumar, Paul Elkan, Maria A. Nilsson, Melita Vamberger, Uwe Fritz and Axel Janke, (2016): Multi-locus Analyzes Reveal Four Giraffe Species Instead of One in Current Biology, accessed on September 8, 2016
- ↑ Protection of species: Rescue for the long necks. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: National Geographic Germany. November 2010, p. 36.
literature
- Alexandre Hassanin, Anne Ropiquet, Anne-Laure Gourmand, Bertrand Chardonnet, Jacques Rigoulet: Mitochondrial DNA variability in Giraffa camelopardalis: consequences for taxonomy, phylogeography and conservation of giraffes in West and central Africa. CR Biologies 330 (2007) 265-274, doi : 10.1016 / j.crvi.2007.02.008 .
Web links
- Giraffe Preservation in Niger - Courtesy of the ASGN. (engl.)
- Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. peralta inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Listed by: Fennessy, J. & Brown, D., 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2014.