Tall story of a dwarf giraffe
NIGEL the giraffe is beautiful but at 8ft 6in he is half the animal of his species – and experts have diagnosed he has dwarfism.
The Angolan giraffe was found living on a farm in central Namibia in southwest Africa – and resembles a Nubian giraffe of similar proportions named Gimli spotted six years ago, researchers said.
Dr Michael Brown, a conservation science fellow with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, came across 9ft 4in Gimli in Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park in 2015 – then spotted Nigel three years later.
Dr Brown said: “Instances of wild animals with these types of skeletal dysplasias are extraordinarily rare. It’s another interesting wrinkle in the unique story of giraffes in these diverse ecosystems.”
Ordinarily, giraffes – the tallest mammal – measure 16ft high with 6ft legs on average.