What started out as a normal day of surveying threatened Nubian’s giraffe in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, should become one of the most amazing field days so far – but see for yourself.
Michael Brown, GCF and Dartmouth College PhD student could hardly believe his eyes:
We just wrapped up surveys this afternoon with a rather eventful day. In addition to photographing loads of giraffe, we were also fortunate enough to witness a giraffe birth. It was a pretty special occasion!
You are doing amazing work and I thank you for this and for bringing all this endeavour to the attention of the wider world. You Julian and your family have made such an amazing sacrifice and are really making a difference in the world, unlike most of the rest of us. I would join you in a heartbeat . Unfortunately I’m bedridden with ill health and barely leave the house. But I adore wildlife documentaries etc . What I have seen today via the BBC has been monumental . Thanks again and I will be making a donation just as soon as I can – very soon.
Thank you so much for your kind words. We are just some of many people who are trying to make a difference. All the best and thank you for sticking your neck out for giraffe conservation in Africa.
Baringo Giraffe, named according to the predominant location, lake Baringo, Kenya! Money can do much, but let us not insult Africans further.
Whilst many might agree with your sentiment, these giraffe were first described and named by the zoologist Lord Walter Rothschild in the early 1900s – G. c. rothschildi. Alternatively, some people like to refer to them as Baringo or Ugandan giraffe. However, our latest research has shown that these giraffe are genetically identical with Nubian giraffe and we propose that they should be subsumed into this subspecies of the northern giraffe.
Thank you for your response, as you can see, and I think you agree, naming is important, and I’m one of those that feel it should involve geography and people indigenous to the area who have lived with these animals for millions of years. I will read more about your work, and I appreciate your efforts to help us enjoy our world.