Three giraffe subspecies

I was under the impression that all so-called "peraltas" are actually antiquorum, and no true peraltas are held in captivity.

@cockroach. There are five giraffe subspecies in europe, to the three are kept at Dresden Zoo, there are masai Giraffes( just one zoo with them in europe-basle ) and angolan giraffes at Dortmund and Lisbon Zoo.

I'm not sure if the peralta/antiquorum animal at Dresden came from Antwerpen, I belive, it came from a french zoo.

Thanks Tarsius ... I didnt know it.

The antiquorum animal came from France (I believe Sable des Olonnes). There are no Peralta in captivity, they are all Antiquorum.

btw. Dierenpark Amersfoort also houses 3 giraffe subspecies in 1 enclosure. They keep 4 reticulated, 2 rotschildt and 1 angolan giraffe, all males.

What a splendid line-up! It would be such a beautiful motif for a tie or a teeshirt (spoken as somebody who always stocks up in zoo shops). Incredible to see the three together, although I imagine the subspecies question will continue to provoke energetic debate for many years.

European Fauna said:

What a splendid line-up! It would be such a beautiful motif for a tie or a teeshirt (spoken as somebody who always stocks up in zoo shops). Incredible to see the three together, although I imagine the subspecies question will continue to provoke energetic debate for many years.

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You are absolutely right that the giraffe subspecies debate will likely continue, but based on the genetics it seems that these are all reproductively isolated groups in the wild. Most speciation concepts are defined around reproductive isolation.