Conservation Genomics of Two Threatened Subspecies of Northern Giraffe: The West African and the Kordofan Giraffe

West African giraffes survived near-extinction with surprising genetic variety still intact. Their population had fallen to just 49 animals in 1996 before conservation efforts helped it recover to more than 600 by the time of this study. Such a narrow escape can leave lasting genetic costs, because survivors may share close relatives and pass on fewer different versions of their genes.

Raphael Coimbra, Sven Winter and colleagues analysed 26 whole genomes and 119 mitochondrial sequences from northern giraffes. They compared West African, Kordofan and Nubian groups, measuring genetic variation and stretches of DNA whose matching copies indicate shared ancestry between an animal’s parents. This also let them distinguish comparatively recent inbreeding from much older population history.

West African giraffes retained moderate genomic diversity compared with other giraffes, despite their severe decline. Nevertheless, they showed more evidence of recent inbreeding than the other northern subspecies. Among Kordofan giraffes, animals from Garamba carried stronger inbreeding signals than those from Zakouma, and eastern and western populations were genetically differentiated. Small samples and missing populations limit how completely this describes each region. The encouraging finding is not that recovery erased genetic risk, but that surviving diversity remains worth protecting alongside growing animal numbers.