While the Namibian farmer had spotted Nigel regularly over the years, it was only after our observations that he realized that Nigel was not a juvenile but a fully grown male giraffe," co-author Emma Wells, a researcher for the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. "It is mainly in comparison to other giraffe that his difference in stature becomes obvious." It was once thought there was just one species of giraffe, but analyses of morphological and DNA data have revealed there could be as many as eight living species and seven extinct species. However, at this time, the most complete molecular evidence suggests there may be four species of giraffe ( ref; also read more here). Counting giraffes Cave, A. J. E. (1950). "On the liver and gall-bladder of the Giraffe". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 120 (2): 381–93. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1950.tb00956.x. Wood, C. (7 March 2014). "Groovy giraffes…distinct bone structures keep these animals upright". Society for Experimental Biology. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018 . Retrieved 7 May 2014.

Foster JB. The giraffe of Nairobi National park: home range, sex ratios, the herd, and food. East Afr Wildlife J. 1966;4:139–48.

Height and Size

The blue whale might have the world’s biggest penis, but size is relative. Barnacles have the biggest penis-to-body size ratio, with genitalia nearly eight-times their total body length. a b c d Badlangana, L. N.; Adams, J. W.; Manger, P. R. (2009). "The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) cervical vertebral column: A heuristic example in understanding evolutionary processes?". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 155 (3): 736–57. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00458.x. On The Hair Bear Bunch, Stretch the giraffe and his buddies come in handy for sliding down in an escape by the bears.

Graïc, J-M; Peruffo, A; Ballarin, C; Cozzi, B (2017). "The brain of the giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis): surface configuration, encephalization quotient, and analysis of the existing literature". The Anatomical Record. 300 (8): 1502–1511. doi: 10.1002/ar.23593. PMID 28346748. S2CID 3634656. Bond, Monica L.; König, Barbara; Ozgul, Arpat; Farine, Damien R.; Lee, Derek E. (2021). "Socially Defined Subpopulations Reveal Demographic Variation in a Giraffe Metapopulation". The Journal of Wildlife Management. 85 (5): 920–931. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.22044. ISSN 1937-2817. S2CID 233600744. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022 . Retrieved 8 April 2021.

Brown MB, Bolger DT, Fennessy JT. All the eggs in one basket: a countrywide assessment of current and historical giraffe population distribution in Uganda. Global Ecol Conserv. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco2019e00612. It seems clear that Gimli and Nigel, despite living 3000 km (1864 miles) apart, are visible warnings of the declining genetic health in Africa’s wild giraffe populations.