The West African giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis peralta''), Niger giraffe
[ or Nigerien giraffe is a subspecies of the giraffe distinguished by its light colored spots. It is found in the Sahel of ]West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
.
In the 19th century it ranged from Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
to Lake Chad, yet in 2011 this subspecies only survives in a few isolated pockets containing about 400 individuals in total. Its last self-sustaining herd is in southwest Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[Dosso Region
Dosso is one of the eight Regions of Niger. The region has an area of , with a population of 2,078,339 as of 2011.
History
The region of Dosso is the historic centre of the Dosso Kingdom, which had its capital at Dosso. Today the palace of t ...](_blank)
and the tourist center at Kouré, some 80 km southeast of Niamey
Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital dis ...
.[Niger : la population des girafes augmente de 24% en 2011 (officiel)]
Xinhua, 2012-03-01. All captive so-called "West African giraffe" are now known to be the Kordofan giraffe
The Kordofan giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum'') is a subspecies of giraffe found in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and possibly western Sudan. Historically some confusion has existed over the exact ...
(''G. c. antiquorum'').
Evolutionary history
Older studies on giraffe subspecies have caused some researchers to question the separate status of ''G. c. peralta'' and the Kordofan giraffe
The Kordofan giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum'') is a subspecies of giraffe found in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and possibly western Sudan. Historically some confusion has existed over the exact ...
(''G. c. antiquorum''). Genetic testing published in 2007 confirmed the distinctiveness of the West African giraffe.
Most captive giraffes from northwestern Africa are in French zoological parks, a result of the French colonies in West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
. Those giraffes were formerly treated as ''G. c. peralta''. However, since genetic analysis revealed that only giraffes to the west of Lake Chad belong to this subspecies, the populations in European zoos are in fact Kordofan giraffe
The Kordofan giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum'') is a subspecies of giraffe found in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and possibly western Sudan. Historically some confusion has existed over the exact ...
s (''G. c. antiquorum''). The West African giraffe is more closely related to the giraffes of East Africa than to those of Central Africa. Its ancestor may have migrated from East to North Africa during the Quaternary and then to West Africa with the development of the Sahara desert. At its largest, Lake Chad may have acted as a barrier between West African and Kordofan giraffes during the Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...
.
Distribution and habitat
The Nigerien giraffe population relies upon seasonal migration between the relatively drought-resistant lowlands of the Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
valley and the drier highlands near Kouré. In this area, Tiger bush habitat allows bands of trees to thrive in climates which might otherwise become more typical desert.
Former range
Before World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, at the time of European colonial administrations, West African giraffe lived in pockets across the Sahel and savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
regions of West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
. Population growth, involving more intensive farming
Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ...
and hunting, a series of droughts since the late 19th century, and environment destruction (both natural and human made) have all contributed to their dramatic decline. As late as the 1960s, prior to the Sahel drought that lasted into the early 1980s, populations identified as ''G. c. peralta'' existed in Senegal, Niger, eastern Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
, northern Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
, northern Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, southwest Chad and northern Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
. However, recent genetic research has shown that the populations from northern Cameroon and southern Chad actually are the Kordofan giraffe
The Kordofan giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum'') is a subspecies of giraffe found in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and possibly western Sudan. Historically some confusion has existed over the exact ...
(''G. c. antiquorum''). Therefore, the giraffes that remain in Waza National Park
Waza National Park is a national park in the Department of Logone-et-Chari, in Far North Region, Cameroon. It was founded in 1934 as a hunting reserve, and covers a total of . Waza achieved national park status in 1968, and became a UNESCO bio ...
(Cameroon) belong to the Kordofan giraffe, while the only remaining viable population of the West African giraffe is in Niger. In Niger, herds have been reported from the Agadez Region
Agadez Region is one of the seven regions of Niger. At , it covers more than half of Niger's land area, and is the largest region in the country, as well as the largest African state subdivision. The capital of the department is Agadez.
Histo ...
and across the west and south of the country. Herds regularly traveled into the Gao Region
The Gao Region ( Bambara: ߜߊߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Gao Dineja) is a region in northeastern Mali. The capital city is Gao.
Geography
The region is bordered to the north by Kidal Region, to the west by Tombouctou Region and Taoudénit Region, ...
of Mali as well and throughout the Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
valley of Niger. Drought struck again in the 1980s and 1990s, and in 1991 there were less than 100 in the nation, with the largest herd in the western Dosso Region
Dosso is one of the eight Regions of Niger. The region has an area of , with a population of 2,078,339 as of 2011.
History
The region of Dosso is the historic centre of the Dosso Kingdom, which had its capital at Dosso. Today the palace of t ...
numbering less than 50 and scattered individuals along the Niger River valley moving from Benin to Mali and clinging on in the W National Park
The W National Park (french: Parc national du W) or W Regional Park (french: W du Niger, links=no) is a major national park in West Africa around a meander in the River Niger shaped like the letter W (french: double v, links=no). The park includ ...
and nearby reserves.
Ecology and behaviour
The West African giraffe survive primarily on a diet of leaves from '' Acacia albida'' and '' Hyphaene thebaica'', as well as '' Annona senegalensis'', '' Parinari macrophylla'', '' Piliostigma reticulatum'', and ''Balanites aegyptiaca
''Balanites aegyptiaca'' (also known as the Egyptian balsam) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East.
There are many comm ...
''.[ In the late 1990s, an anti-]desertification
Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...
project for the area around Niamey encouraged the development of woodcutting businesses. An unintended effect of this was the destruction of much tiger bush and giraffe habitat within the region. The Nigerien government has since moved to limit woodcutting in the area.
Conservation
In the mid-1990s there were only 49 in the whole of West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
. These giraffes were formally protected by the Niger government and have now risen to 600. Conservation efforts since the 1990s have led to a sizable growth in population, though largely limited to the single Dosso herd. From a low of 50 individuals, in 2007 the herd had grown to some 175 wild individuals, 250 in 2010, and 310 in the Nigerien government's 2011 count.[ There were about 400 to 450 wild individuals as of 2016.] Intensive efforts have been made within Niger, especially in the area just north of the Dosso Partial Faunal Reserve. From there, the largest existing herd migrates seasonally to the drier highlands along the Dallol Bosso
The Dallol Bosso ( Zarma: Boboye) is one of two major seasonal river valleys in southwest Niger. The Dallol Bosso valley runs from the Azawagh area in the Sahara west and south through the Dosso Region where it reaches the Niger River valley.
Hu ...
valley, as far north as Kouré, some 80 km southeast of Niamey
Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital dis ...
. This area, though under little formal regulation, is the centre for Nigerien and international efforts to maintain habitat, smooth relations between the herd and area farmers, and provide opportunities for tourism, organised by the Association to Safeguard Giraffes in Niger
The Association to Safeguard Giraffes in Niger (ASGN, L'Association de sauvegarde des girafes du Niger) is an organization formed to help the giraffes of Niger, including ensuring the preservation of their habitat in the face of devastating agricu ...
.
References
Further reading
*I. Ciofolo. "West Africa's Last Giraffes: The Conflict between Development and Conservation," ''Journal of Tropical Ecology'', Vol. 11, No. 4 (November 1995), pp. 577–588
*Yvonnick Le Pendu and Isabelle Ciofolo (1999). Seasonal movements of giraffes in Niger. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 15, pp 341–353
External links
*
*
West African Giraffe Photos & facts
on African Wildlife Foundation
The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is the leading international conservation organization focused exclusively on Africa's wildlife and wild lands.
AWF's programs and conservation strategies are designed to protect the wildlife and wild lands of ...
's website
{{Taxonbar, from=Q781652
West African giraffe
The West African giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis peralta''), Niger giraffe or Nigerien giraffe is a subspecies of the giraffe distinguished by its light colored spots. It is found in the Sahel of West Africa.
In the 19th century it ranged fr ...
Fauna of Benin
Fauna of Burkina Faso
Fauna of Mali
Fauna of Niger
Mammals of West Africa
West African giraffe
The West African giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis peralta''), Niger giraffe or Nigerien giraffe is a subspecies of the giraffe distinguished by its light colored spots. It is found in the Sahel of West Africa.
In the 19th century it ranged fr ...
West African giraffe
The West African giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis peralta''), Niger giraffe or Nigerien giraffe is a subspecies of the giraffe distinguished by its light colored spots. It is found in the Sahel of West Africa.
In the 19th century it ranged fr ...