Giraffe is now officially four species

The IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, now officially recognizes four distinct giraffe species, it announced on Aug. 21. Until recently, giraffes across Africa were classified as a single species with eight to 11 subspecies. However, since 2016, when the giraffe’s threat status was last assessed for the IUCN Red List as vulnerable, several studies have argued for splitting the giraffe into multiple species given their vast differences. In response, the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group (GOSG) initiated a taxonomic review and concluded there are four distinct species of giraffe: the northern (Giraffa camelopardalis), reticulated (G. reticulata), Masai (G. tippelskirchi) and southern giraffe (G. giraffa). The northern giraffe now includes th