Northern giraffe
| Northern giraffe | |
|---|---|
| In Murchison Falls National Park | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Giraffidae |
| Genus: | Giraffa |
| Species: | G. camelopardalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Giraffa camelopardalis Linnaeus, 1758 | |
The northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), also known as three-horned giraffe, is the type species of giraffe, G. camelopardalis, and is native to North Africa, although alternative taxonomic hypotheses have proposed the northern giraffe as a separate species.
Once abundant throughout Africa since the 19th century, the northern giraffe ranged from Senegal, Mali and Nigeria from West Africa to up north in Egypt. The similar West African giraffe lived in Algeria and Morocco in ancient periods until their extinctions due to the Saharan dry climate.
Giraffes collectively are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as the global population is thought to consist of about 97,000 individuals as of 2016.