Rare dwarf giraffes sighted in Namibia and Uganda

Researchers from the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) have recently come across two dwarf giraffes in two separate populations in Africa.

One giraffe named Nigel was spotted on a private farm in central Namibia and the other, called Gimli, in the Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. ‘These adult male giraffe are the first dwarf giraffe that have been described in the scientific literature,’ GCF said in their report.

‘Using digital photogrammetry techniques, the researchers found that these giraffe had shorter legs compared to others of similar age. The fact that this is the first description of dwarf giraffe is just another example of how little we know about these iconic animals,’ they added.

The anomalous giraffes were discovered during photographic surveys routinely conducted by GCF to determine numbers, population dynamics, and distribution of giraffe throughout Africa.

‘Instances of wild animals with these types of skeletal dysplasias are extraordinarily rare,’ said lead author Dr Michael Brown. ‘It’s another interesting wrinkle in the unique story of giraffe in these diverse ecosystems.’

Giraffes are listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ by the IUCN and the GCF estimates that there are only about 111,000 giraffes remaining in the wild in all of Africa today.