Overview

• The IUCN now classifies giraffes as four species: Northern (Giraffa camelopardalis), Reticulated (G. reticulata), Masai (G. tippelskirchi) and Southern (G. giraffa).
• The Northern giraffe counts about 7,037 individuals in 2025, placing it among Africa’s most threatened large mammals.
• The revision aims to tailor conservation to distinct regional pressures, from conflict and poaching in Central Africa to habitat fragmentation from fencing in East Africa.
• Africa’s total giraffe numbers fell by roughly 40% between 1985 and 2015 to about 98,000, with declines in East and Central Africa and increases in parts of the south.
• Three of the four species may be re-evaluated for higher threat categories, while some reporting differs on how former subspecies map to the new species and will require clarification.