For The First Time Ever, 2 Extremely Rare Miniature Giraffes Get Spotted In Namibia And Uganda BoredPanda staff
Did you know that giraffes have black tongues? Yep, no doubt only the hardcore giraffe lovers knew that one, but there is still a lot that is yet to be discovered about giraffes.
Hence, we have researchers out in Africa studying this amazing species of animals. And one such team of researchers were surprised to spot two wild dwarf giraffes the first of their kind. They were documented and the pictures have since been making headlines on the internet.
Turns out, dwarfism can also hit giraffes as seen in this research paper by a giraffe conservation group
Scientists surprised to discover two dwarf giraffes in Namibia, Uganda Reuters
Monday, January 11th 2021, 1:14 pm - In both cases, the giraffes had the standard long necks but short, stumpy legs.
Being tall is the giraffe s competitive advantage, giving it the pick of leaves from the tallest trees, so scientists were stunned to find two giraffe dwarves on different sides of Africa. It s fascinating what our researchers out in the field found, Julian Fennessy, co-founder of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, told Reuters in a videocall on Friday. We were very surprised.
Most giraffes grow to 15 - 20 feet (4.5 - 6 metres), but in 2018, scientists working with the foundation discovered an 8 1/2-foot (2.6 metre) giraffe in Namibia. Three years earlier, they had also found a 9-foot 3-inch (2.8 metre) giraffe in a Ugandan wildlife park.