torn South Sudan, giraffes retain a surprisingly healthy gene pool
Research indicates that giraffe populations in war-torn South Sudan maintain high genetic diversity despite decades of conflict. The study suggests that these isolated populations serve as a critical genetic stronghold for the species.
Why it matters
This finding challenges the assumption that conflict zones are biological dead zones, emphasizing the importance of conservation efforts in unstable regions.
Giraffes living in the South Sudan’s war-torn savannas are genetically healthy and connected to nearby giraffe populations by gene flow, despite decades of conflict, recent research suggests .
These findings show that “regions of the world that have been affected by conflict can maintain a lot of biodiversity and should therefore not be overlooked by genetic studies and conservation efforts,” Sam van Giessen, study lead author and a conservation genomics researcher from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, told Mongabay by email.
The IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, currently recognizes four species and seven subspecies of giraffes. South Sudan is home to two subspecies of the critically endangered northern giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis ): the Nubian giraffe ( G. c. camelopardalis ) and the Kordofan giraffe ( G. c. antiquorum ).
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