Nubian giraffe

Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis

Giraffe looking at camera

IMAGE: Amy Middleton 2022

Status

NE DD LC NT VU EN CR EW EX

For more info on classifications visit www.iucnredlist.org

There are five Nubian giraffes at Edinburgh Zoo – Ronnie, Arrow, Gerald, Fennessy and Gilbert. 

They arrived in 2021 to form a bachelor herd here at the zoo. 

Population

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Decreasing

Diet

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Herbivore

Habitat

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Grasslands

Fact file

  • Just like human fingerprints, no two giraffe have the same coat pattern

  • Giraffe feet are the size of a dinner plate with a diameter of 30cm

  • Giraffe tongues are bluish colour and between 45cm and 50cm long

  • The giraffe is the tallest mammal in the world. Even newborn giraffes are taller than most humans!

  • Female giraffe give birth standing up. Their young fall about two metres to the ground and can stand up within an hour of birth

Giraffe eating from a branch IMAGE: Amy Middleton 2023

Keep up with our giraffes

Giraffe cam was launched to thank everyone who supported Edinburgh Zoo’s Giraffe About Town trail in 2022 which raised over £246,000 of vital funds for wildlife conservation in Scotland and across the globe.

Watch our giraffes live
Murchison giraffe in the wild 

IMAGE: JP 2017

How we're helping

As a wildlife conservation charity, we care for both the animals here at the zoo and work to protect endangered species around the world. Our partnership with Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) directly contributes to the restoration of giraffe in Uganda. We’re supporting staff training initiatives, conservation monitoring efforts, and RZSS WildGenes is helping GCF understand the success of their reintroduction programmes across the country.

GCF is the only organisation in the world that concentrates solely on the conservation and management of giraffe in the wild throughout Africa. They are an international science-based conservation organisation that provides innovative approaches to save giraffe in the wild.

Our giraffes are part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) which ensures a healthy and genetically diverse population.

Find out more about RZSS giraffe conservation in Uganda