Author: Nikolaos Kargopoulos, Post-doctoral fellow, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town

Giraffes are among the world’s most recognisable animals. With their elongated necks and long legs, their gracious movements and unique coat patterns, they have inspired people’s imaginations for centuries. But is a giraffe just a giraffe? Or is there more variety between the animals at a genetic level than is evident just from looking at them? For more than a decade many researchers have compared the DNA of giraffes from all parts of Africa. These studies have revealed that there are four distinct giraffe species: the southern (Giraffa giraffa), Masai (Giraffa tippelskirchi), reticulated (Giraffa reticulata), and northern (Giraffa camelopardalis) giraffe.…