There Are More Than One Species of Giraffe?

Recently, it has been discovered that the common Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is not so common anymore.  This is because it has been discovered that there are actually 4 species of giraffe.  This discovery was made by Dr. Axel Janke and Julian Fennessey, two geneticists who took samples of DNA from about 200 different giraffes.  The results showed 4 distinct genomes, with variations so great they could be compared to that of the genomes of brown bears vs. polar bears.  The 3 newly discovered types of giraffes are no known as the Southern Giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), the Northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis), the Reticulated Giraffe (G. reticulata), and the Masai Giraffe (G. tippelskirchi).  On the outside, the only real differences between each species is the slight changes in their coat patterns, but they are all in fact different species.  It is believed that these species have diverged from a common ancestor relatively recently, about 1.5 million years ago.

With this new discovery, a new problem emerges out of the gene pool.  Since giraffes are now split up as 4 different species, it can be determined that they can not interbreed with each other.  This definitely causes more problems than it solves.  Since the giraffe population was already depleting, this new discovery takes the relatively small 90,000 giraffes left and splits it into 4 pieces.  This makes the conservation of the various giraffe species much more important than it was before, with only 4,750 of these being the northern giraffe.

Honestly, the fact that it took us this long to discover that the different coat patterns in giraffes actually represented different species is astounding.  It is almost humorous the way it was just overlooked.  But on a less humorous note, it is pretty bad that they are all not the same species, since their populations have been decreasing.  It is estimated that there are only 4,750 northern giraffes left, which is a huge difference compared to just saying there are about 90,000 giraffes left.  I think it should be made a bigger importance to keeping the different species all out of the endangered zone, as they are all slowly creeping that way.    

http://www.livescience.com/56025-giraffes-are-4-species.html 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/science/a-quadruple-take-on-the-giraffe-its-four-species-not-one.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites 

The Tallest Mammal on Earth

According to genetic researchers, giraffes diverged from their common ancestor, the okapi 11.5 million years ago. Okapi, however, more closely resemble a zebra than a giraffe as they do not have a long neck or other adaptations that are specific to a giraffe. To compare a giraffe to an okapi, scientists compared the gene-coding of two Masai giraffes, one from
Kenya and one from a zoo in Tennessee to the fetus of an okapi, located in Florida. They also compared 40 other mammals to the giraffe, and concluded that the giraffe is most closely related to the okapi.

When comparing the genes of the giraffe to other mammals, scientists found that giraffes have about 70 genes that hold adaptations, and none of the other mammals they studied shared any of those adaptations with the giraffe. Of those 70 genes, about 46 of those genes code for proteins that are linked to development of the skeletal and cardiovascular system. Specifically, there are 4 genes that are unique to the development of the spine and legs of the giraffe.

Reaching heights up to 6 meters tall (a little over 19 feet), Giraffes are the tallest mammals on Earth. Their necks alone can stretch out to 2 meters longs, or 6.5 feet. To deal with such great lengths, giraffes have mechanisms to prevent themselves from fainting. When lowering their neck, giraffes hearts have special valves that can pump blood 2.5 times great than a human heart. This allows the giraffe to lower their heads without fainting, because the blood can pump to their brain even when their head is down. In addition, giraffes need special accommodations to keep their balance while they walk and run. Amazingly, giraffes can sprint up to 60 kilometers per hour (that's about 37 miles per hour). Therefore, giraffes have sloped backs, long legs, and short trunks to help them from falling over.

 Sadly however, there are only about 80,000 giraffes left, and the number continues to decline.
http://www.nature.com/news/genome-reveals-why-giraffes-have-long-necks-1.19931

The Future of the Rothchild Giraffe

Giraffes have been a favorite animal of mine ever since I was little, and I always liked their long necks, graceful nature, and spotted pattern. Unfortunately, these animals are also on the decline in population numbers because of hunting and lack of space and foliage because of the growth of the human population. I along with others do not want to see these animals die because they are wonderful creatures that add diversity to the world, but if more measures are not taken, then giraffes may be gone in the future.

However, thanks to the efforts of James Pootoolal, a giraffe supervisor at the African Lion Safari park in Ontario, Canada, giraffes are coming back slowly but surely in the form of artificial insemination and frozen semen insemination. This procedure involves giraffe sperm being collected and saved in case male giraffes are not born or the males that would mate with females died off before they could mate. Artifical insemination involves injecting said sperm into a female giraffe and letting a baby form in that way. This procedure is currently being used on the Rothschild giraffe species, which only contains about 1,000 wild giraffes in the entire world

Pootoolal explains that "although giraffes are such popular animals, not much is known about their biology" and that is why people don't pay attention to the decline of giraffes as much, focusing on other animals like pandas, rhinos, and gorillas. He also explains that people should care for all creatures because they have personalities and feelings just like humans and other domesticated animals. Just because the genes belong to a wild animal does not mean that they matter any less.

Pootoolal and his team were enthusiastic about their first artificial insemination baby Safari, and they are hoping that the giraffe baby born of frozen semen insemination will live and survive because that would mean that that procedure is viable and the genetic material from long dead giraffes, in addition to the newly saved genetic material, can be used to repopulate the species and bring it back from endangerment. I think this could be really beneficial. not only for my favorite animal the giraffe but for other endangered animals too. If the genetic material turns out to harbor genes that protect against disease, they could be passed on to future generations and further slow down the decline of endangered species numbers.