Baby Giraffe

• G. c. giraffa, the South African Giraffe, has rounded or blotched spots, some with star-like extensions on a light tan background, running down to the hooves. It is found in northern South Africa, southern Botswana, southern Zimbabwe and southwestern Mozambique. It is estimated that fewer than 12,000 remain in the wild, and based on ISIS records approximately 45 are kept in zoos.
• G. c. thornicrofti, called the Thornicroft Giraffe or Rhodesian Giraffe, has star-shaped or leafy spots extend to the lower leg. It is restricted to the Luangwa Valley in eastern Zambia. Fewer than 1,500 remain in the wild, and based on ISIS records none are kept in zoos.
• G. c. peralta, commonly known as the West African Giraffe or Nigerian Giraffe, has numerous pale, yellowish red spots. It is endemic to southern Niger. With fewer than 220 individuals remaining in the wild, it is the rarest giraffe subspecies. Giraffes in Cameroon were formerly believed to be this subspecies, but are actually G. c. antiquorum. This has also resulted in some confusion over its status in zoos, but in 2007 it was established that all "G. c. peralta" kept in European zoos actually are G. c. antiquorum.
Formerly, the Kordofan and West African Giraffes were regarded as a single subspecies, but genetic evidence has confirmed that they represent two separate subspecies. Comparably, the Rothschild's Giraffe has been considered a hybrid population, but genetic evidence has confirmed that it is a valid subspecies. By contrast, scientists have proposed four other subspecies — Cape Giraffe (G. c. capensis), Lado Giraffe (G. c. cottoni), Congo Giraffe (G. c. congoensis), and Transvaal Giraffe (G. c. wardi) — but today none of these is widely accepted. One genetic study on Smoky Giraffes suggests that the northern Namib Desert and Etosha National Park populations are distinct subspecies.