Mammal
The West African giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis
The giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis, is the tallest land animal in the world and can grow up to 5.5 metres tall. It is particularly fond of acacia leaves and uses its slender 45 cm long tongue to slip between the thorns of the tree and pick the tender shoots.
Distinctive features
At between 4 and 5 metres tall and weighing between 600 and 1,500 kg, the giraffe is one of the best-known animals of the African savannah. Each individual giraffe has a unique coat that sets it apart from its fellow giraffes.
The giraffes at the Parc Zoologique de Paris come from the Kordofan giraffe subspecies, Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum, named after an ancient province of Sudan.
The west african giraffe: an endangered species
The last free-ranging herd of giraffes is currently found in Niger. The threats to this species are illegal hunting, habitat destruction through desertification in the Sahel, agricultural expansion, population growth, overgrazing, war and mining. The population is increasingly fragmented and has declined by 70% in the 30 years between 1985 and 2015. For the Kordofan subspecies, there were still 3,700 individuals in the 1980s, but only 2,000 in 2016.
The Museum's action to protect the giraffe
TheParc zoologique de Paris is taking part in the European breeding programme. Its group of giraffes consists of around ten individuals. Conservation actions in the field are based on herd transfers, raising awareness among local human populations and environmental protection laws.
The giraffes of west africa
Get to know giraffes
Giraffes all have different coats, which distinguish them from one another like our fingerprints. However, the Park's keepers have a little trick for recognising them: for example, Adeline has almost no hair left on her horns from snooping around so much!
At the Parc zoologique de Paris, the giraffes attend a sound desensitisation workshop. The keepers present them with crumpled paper and familiarise them with new sounds to reduce the stress caused by unusual noises in their environment.
Adeline, la girafe d'Afrique de l'Ouest
© MNHN - F.-G. GrandinSponsor a species
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