Find Dwarf Giraffes In Africa, Scientists Explain

Illustration. (Lisa H / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Giraffes are generally known as towering animals. This is an advantage for them in finding food in the form of leaves from towering trees in Africa.

However, what happens if there is a pygmy giraffe? Yes, a number of scientists were surprised by the discovery of the dwarf giraffe in separate places in Africa. Findings that immediately caught the attention of scientists.

"It's really interesting what our researchers found in the field," said Giraffe Conservation Foundation co-founder Julian Fennessy as reported by Reuters.

Most giraffes grow to 15 - 20 feet (4.5 - 6 meters), but in 2018, scientists working for the institute discovered 8 1/2-foot (2.6 meter) giraffes in Namibia. Three years earlier, they also found a giraffe as high as 2.8 meters in a Ugandan wildlife park.

Illustration. (Julie Wolpers / Unsplash)

This rare finding they published in the 'British Medical Journal' at the end of December last year. In both cases, the giraffe has a standard long neck but short and short legs, the journal wrote.

Skeletal dysplasia, the medical name for the condition, affects people and pets. But the journal reveals, these conditions rarely occur in wild animals in the wild.

Footage taken by the agency shows Ugandan Giraffes standing on thick, muscular legs in a dry savanna in Murchison Falls National Park in northern Uganda. While a taller animal with long legs like and towering height walked behind it.

"Unfortunately there may be no benefit at all. The giraffe grows taller to reach the taller trees. Most likely they are physically impossible to breed with their normal sized counterparts, "said Fennessy.

Illustration. (howling red / Unsplash)

To note, the highest number of mammals in the world has decreased by about 40 percent over the past 30 years, to around 111,000. So there are several species classified by conservationists as in the status of 'vulnerable' to extinction.

“This is largely due to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, human population growth, more cultivated land. Combined with a little hunting and climate change, "he explained.

However, Fennessy is grateful that the conservation efforts that have been carried out by various parties have been able to restore this condition in recent times.