Mini Giraffes- “Two dwarf giraffes in separate populations in Uganda and Namibia have been photographed in the wild by researchers“
The following written content by GrrlScientist
Two dwarf giraffes have recently been found in Africa as the result of standard photographic surveys used by researchers to track their population dynamics. One dwarf giraffe was found in Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda, and the other was found on a private farm in central Namibia. This is the first time that dwarf giraffes have ever been spotted in the wild.
Both giraffes appear to be affected by skeletal dysplasia, a rare collection of genetic disorders that cause dwarfism and other developmental disorders. Skeletal dysplasias cause abnormally shaped bones, especially in the head, spine and long bones of the arms and legs.
“Instances of wild animals with these types of skeletal dysplasias are extraordinarily rare”, said lead author of the study, conservation biologist Michael Brown, a joint postdoctoral fellow with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Dr Brown has studied the interactions between the population ecology and spatial ecology in giraffes and in Grevy’s zebras for a decade.
“It’s another interesting wrinkle in the unique story of giraffe in these diverse ecosystems”, Dr Brown said.
Giraffe are the tallest animal alive today. Average adult heights range between 4.3–6.1 m (14.1–20 ft) tall, with males being noticeably larger than females. Giraffe are gregarious animals that tend to live in family groups comprised of females and their offspring, in loose aggregations of unrelated bachelor males, or as solitary adult males.
Giraffe are usually found in savannahs and open woodlands rather than in denser forests. They eat leaves, fruits and flowers, which are stripped from tree branches using a long, prehensile purplish-black tongue. Giraffe are ruminants, like cows, which are distant cousins, and will ruminate whilst standing up during the day, or laying down at night. Read more from Forbes
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