Giraffes brought to India 150 years ago from Africa may be a critically endangered species

Subject: Environment

Context-

About 150 years ago, British colonialists brought batches of what they thought was a single species of the northern giraffe to India, from their other colonial possessions in Africa.
These now comprise a captive population of 29 individuals of northern giraffes across the country.

Genealogical study of Giraffes-

A recent genealogical study of the largest captive herd in India at the Alipore Zoological Garden in Kolkata has confirmed that the individuals in this facility, at least, are most likely “critically endangered” Nubian giraffes ( Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) or the endangered Rothschild giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi).
The Nubian giraffes are believed to be among three sub-species of the northern giraffe, according to a whole genome sequencing study conducted in 2021.
He pointed out that there were giraffes in captivity in Mysuru, Chennai, Patna, Guwahati, and Hyderabad, and that it was imperative to identify which species of giraffe each of the facilities in India have in their possession.
Genetic distance analysis of the giraffes in Alipore showed that they were most closely related to Nubian and Rothschild giraffes.
There’s still debate among scientists on whether the Nubian and Rothschild giraffes are separate sub-species.
As both the Nubian and Rothschild giraffes are listed as ‘critically endangered’ and ‘endangered’ by the IUCN respectively, we think it’s imperative that the Central Zoo Authority conducts further studies of the giraffes in captivity so that the species are not interbred with each other and the giraffes’ germplasm is preserved.

No past record-

The “stud-books” maintained in zoos across India had little to no information on where the giraffes brought to India from Africa had been captured, so the only way to identify the species would be through a mitochondrial gene study.
As giraffes are an exotic species that was imported into India, protocols to manage the populations were different when compared to animals that are native to the country.

About the Giraffe-

Giraffes are most often found in savanna/woodland habitats and range widely throughout Africa.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified giraffes as vulnerable in the Red List in December 2016, when it noted that their population had dropped by over 40% since 1985.
According to IUCN, the four principal factors that have led to a population decline among giraffes are habitat loss, civil unrest, poaching and ecological issues.

Giraffes are listed under Appendix II of the CITES