West African Giraffes

[11jadaway]

I know there are some zoos claiming to keep West African Giraffes. But is there currently any place in the world that keep pure West African Giraffes?

 

[DavidBrown]

Yes. Niger does.

 

[11jadaway]

Captivity I meant.

 

[DavidBrown]

Captivity I meant.

No. There is only the very small, but growing, wild population in Niger.

 

[11jadaway]

Has there ever been some in captivity

 

[DavidBrown]

Has there ever been some in captivity

I don't know if there were any kept historically. Almost certainly some were somewhere. In the extant population in the 1990s there was an attempt to capture a baby for a zoo in one of the West African countries (Senegal?) and they ended up killing it.

 

[Tim May]

Has there ever been some in captivity

London Zoo acquired a west African giraffe (from northern Nigeria) on 7th April 1905.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

London Zoo acquired a west African giraffe (from northern Nigeria) on 7th April 1905.

Incidentally, this individual is not listed in the historical giraffe registry!

 

[11jadaway]

Do you think there ever will be another one in captivity?

 

[mrcriss]

Bizarrely, everyone's favourite and pride of the nation, South Lakes Safari Slum, has them!:roll eyes:

Or at least that's what is plastered all over their Facebook.

 

[condor]

Until a few years ago, it was believed that various European zoos had West Africa giraffes, but (as has been mentioned before on zoochat) a genetic study confirmed their true identity as Kordofan. I'm sure there are some zoos that still haven't updated their signs or webpages, but regardless: "West African giraffe" in a zoo = really a Kordofan. This includes the South Lakes Safari giraffes.

 

[lintworm]

All the "west african giraffes" in European zoos originate from the group in Paris, the founders came from Cameroon & Chad, but with 3.1 founders it is not a very big gene pool

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

@lintworm, I prefer we talk Kordofans here: 3.1 founders ex Paris Zoo + the Antwerpen Zoo founder stock.

It is a real miff that after all the research done the SLWP and even ISIS (+probably the ensuing ZIMS) database are so conservative that it continues feeding ignorance over a scientific fact and reclassification of a major portion of the European giraffe stock.

 

[hedigerfan]

Edinburgh Zoo had a female West African giraffe that arrived in 1948 and died in 1961. She was a gift from the Emir of Katsina in northern Nigeria. According to Gillespie's book, "Story of the Edinburgh Zoo", it was believed she was the only specimen of that race in captivity at the time. It was hoped a male could be acquired from the Emir, but as it never materialised, in 1958 a young male reticulated giraffe was imported from Kenya; no offspring were produced.