The northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), also called the three-horned giraffe, is a species of artiodactyl mammal in the giraffe family Giraffidae. It is indigenous to northern Africa, but giraffes are all currently considered Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. As of 2016 there were 5,195 northern giraffes reported alive in the wild out of 97,000 total giraffes of all species.
There may be as many as five identified subspecies:
- Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum, Kordofan giraffe
- Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis, Nubian giraffe
- Giraffa camelopardalis peralta, West African giraffe
- Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi, Rothschild’s giraffe
- Giraffa camelopardalis senegalensis, Senegalese giraffe (extinct in the 1970s)
However, some biologists believe that the Nubian and Rothschild’s giraffes are the only extant subspecies, with the others being whole species of their own. Other biologists believe the opposite, that other species of giraffe may in fact be subspecies of the northern giraffe instead of different species, and that the Nubian and Rothschild’s giraffes are sub-populations of the same subspecies.
