The giraffes in South Luangwa National Park are a geographically separate species of Masai Giraffe know as Thornicroft. They are genetically distinct and endemic to the Luangwa Valley. Thornicrofts are generally smaller than other subspecies with a unique irregular blotchy pattern that extends down it’s legs.
About half of all young giraffe’s die due to predation before they are one year old. We saw one particularly young giraffe with tuffs on it’s ears which was dwarfed by it’s parent. There is estimated to be less than 550 Thornicroft Giraffes in Zambia and it is listed as a vulnerable species. We were so happy to see herds of giraffes on our trip to Zambia!
