The skin pattern is the best clue for telling them apart. And, like our fingerprints, no two giraffes have the same spots.
Giraffa giraffa
It lives in southern Africa, from Angola and Namibia to South Africa and Mozambique. Its spots are rounded or star-shaped, on a light background, and extend down the legs to the hooves. It is the most numerous species and its populations continue to grow.
Giraffa camelopardalis
It lives in scattered populations from Niger, in West Africa, to Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. It has large spots with irregular edges and often white legs below the knee, as if it were wearing socks. Many males have a third bump on the forehead. Its scientific name means something like “camel with leopard spots”. It is the rarest of the four species.
Giraffa reticulata
Native to northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia and Somalia. It has the most striking coat: large reddish-brown patches separated by thin white lines, like a net. Hence its name, from the Latin reticulum, “little net”.
