Population Status and Trend of the Maasai Giraffe in the Mid Kenya-Tanzania Borderland
Among the nine sub-species of giraffes, the Maasai giraffe is the most widespread and common in Northern and Southern Kenya. Although it’s considered by the IUCN to be a species of no conservation concern, they have been reported to have declined in some of their range areas mostly due to bush meat activities, habitat fragmentation […]
Extensive population genetic structure in the giraffe
Background: A central question in the evolutionary diversification of large, widespread, mobile mammals is how substantial differentiation can arise, particularly in the absence of topographic or habitat barriers to dispersal. All extant giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) are currently considered to represent a single species classified into multiple subspecies. However, geographic variation in traits such as pelage […]
Umbrella species: critique and lessons from East Africa
Umbrella species are ‘species with large area requirements, which if given sufficient protected habitat area, will bring many other species under protection’. Historically, umbrella species were employed to delineate specific reserve boundaries but are now used in two senses: (1) as aids to identifying areas of species richness at a large geographic scale; (2) as […]