Gimli And Nigel, The First Giraffe Dwarves In The World, Will Steal Your Heart At First Glance
Giraffes are already hard to miss, but these two wild animals stood out for a very different reason. Researchers recently documented what appear to be the first known dwarf giraffes in the scientific literature, and the photos are hard to forget.
The pair, later named Gimli and Nigel, were found in separate populations during routine photographic surveys in Africa. Their bodies showed shorter legs than typical giraffes, while their necks remained the same length, making the discovery even more unusual.
Scroll down to see the images and the story behind these rare little giants.
Researchers from the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) stumbled upon dwarf giraffes during one of their photographic surveys, which they regularly conduct to determine population numbers, dynamics, and distribution across Africa.
Dwarf giraffes measure 8.5 to 9.3 feet high, while average giraffes are approximately 15 to 20 feet tall.
These two dwarf giraffes have names.
And Dr. Brown once explained the story behind that:
“To be honest, the giraffes aren’t really ours to name, but sometimes researchers give them nicknames to identify them as individuals and to better communicate them to other researchers. Gimli was indeed named in honor of the character from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (as an interesting aside, when researching dwarfism in other wild animals, we learned that a dwarf elephant documented in Sri Lanka was also given the name Gimli… an interesting case of convergent naming). Nigel is just a lovely name given by one of the local folks in Namibia… I admittedly do not know the origin of his name.”
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Skeletal dysplasia (abnormal development of cells), also known as dwarfism, is quite rare among wild animals.
But these dwarf giraffes are not easy to spot.
As one of the research team members, Emma Wells, said:
“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. It is mainly in comparison to other giraffes that his difference in stature becomes obvious.”
In this photo, you can see a normal giraffe (A) and the two dwarf ones (B and C).
Get to know dwarf giraffes better by watching the video.
These new findings have certainly opened a new chapter in the study of giraffes. A lot of effort must be put into the research because this is a whole new, unexplored field in science.
What is known so far is that dwarfism isn’t beneficial for giraffes. This makes them vulnerable because giraffes use their legs to defend themselves from predators.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Share your opinion in the comment section, and don’t forget to tell your friends about this magnificent new finding.
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