Scientists have reclassified giraffes into four distinct species, up from one. Conservationists say this greater understanding of giraffe taxonomy will allow for targeted conservation efforts, specific to each species' needs, prioritizing those that are critically endangered.

Researchers have determined that Africa's giraffe populations are made up of four distinct species: the Northern Giraffe, Reticulated Giraffe, Maasai Giraffe, and Southern Giraffe. This new classification replaces the previous understanding of giraffes as a single species and has been recognized by the IUCN Red List.

Each species faces different threats and has unique conservation needs. With giraffe numbers in the wild declining by about 40% over the past 30 years, scientists believe that this updated taxonomy will enable more effective and targeted conservation strategies, addressing specific risks such as habitat loss, poaching, and disease.

Scientists reclassify giraffes into four distinct species, up from one

To the uninitiated, most giraffes probably look the same. But researchers now say there were evolutionary differences between Africa's giraffe populations, resulting in four distinct species. So through our assessment, we've described, we've recognized four species for the IUCN Red List. The Northern Giraffe, the Reticulated Giraffe, the Maasai Giraffe and the Southern Giraffe. Each species has different population sizes, different threats and different conservation needs. By identifying the different species, scientists can now pinpoint their different needs and target their conservation strategy. This report is about a change in taxonomy of the nomenclature of the giraffe, giraffes and okapi. And it's, obviously, taxonomy is very important. It tells us about specific species. So for conservation, the work that we do, it's imperative, it's very key that when we say this is the Maasai Giraffe, everyone in conservation means that. It can be identified, threats to it can be identified, and what needs to be done to avert those threats can be identified specific to that species. There are still an estimated 117,000 giraffes in the wild, but their numbers have fallen by about 40% in the last 30 years. The new taxonomy can help protect them. When you've got the separate species and the analysis that has gone into this, this may invoke more attention and more urgent action. So for example, if a particular species was a subspecies of a larger group that was not critically endangered but say of special attention or special concern, action was not specifically targeted to that subspecies. Now that it has full species status and a revision of what is causing endangerment, then more action will be taken quickly. The main threats to giraffes in Africa are habitat loss, poaching and disease. Conservationists hope that by better understanding the differences between giraffe species, they can target those threats and eliminate them more efficiently.

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