Northern giraffe

The northern giraffe, sometimes called the three-horned giraffe, is native to North Africa and is one of four giraffe species recognized as of August 2025. It was historically widespread across the continent, ranging from Senegal, Mali and Nigeria westward to Egypt, but its populations have declined dramatically and it is now among the most endangered giraffes; the IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, with roughly 97,000 individuals estimated in 2016, and it is listed under CITES Appendix II. Current populations are fragmented across east and central Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Niger. Males carry three horn-like ossicones, two larger frontal ones and a median cylindrical one measuring 76 to 127 millimeters, with the frontal ossicones notably longer than those of southern giraffes; its recognized subspecies are the Kordofan, Nubian and West African giraffes, while the Senegalese subspecies is extinct.