Chester Zoo welcomes rare male giraffe to join conservation breeding programme
Chester Zoo has introduced a three-year-old male northern giraffe named Kris to its resident female herd as part of a conservation breeding programme for one of Africa’s most endangered large animals.
Kris arrived from West Midlands Safari Park and has been matched with the five females on the basis of genetics, age and temperament.
Fewer than 7,000 northern giraffes remain in the wild, driven by habitat loss, poaching and conflict with humans.
Rosie Owen, giraffe keeper at Chester Zoo, said: “Kris’ arrival marks the beginning of an important new chapter for the herd here at Chester.
“He’s already settling into his new home brilliantly.
“At just over three years old, Kris is still a young giraffe, but he’s full of confidence and is already getting to know the herd — and out of his five new housemates, four of them are older females who are all considerably taller than him.
“He’s taking everything in his stride and we’re optimistic that, in time, our matchmaking will pay off and he’ll go on to play a vital role in helping to save his species from extinction.”
Kris is a Nubian giraffe, a subspecies of the northern giraffe once found across western Kenya, western Ethiopia, southern Sudan and Uganda, whose numbers fell by around 95 per cent in three decades.
Today the subspecies survives only in small, fragmented populations.
The zoo has been working in Uganda for more than a decade alongside the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Stuart Nixon, African conservation expert at Chester Zoo, said: “The largest remaining population of Nubian giraffe, anywhere in the wild, is found in Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda.
“Our work here has included safely translocating genetically important giraffes from the herds there to help strengthen smaller, isolated populations elsewhere in the country.
“Alongside this, we’re also helping to carry out annual population surveys and provide practical support for ranger teams tackling the threat of wire snares and poaching.
“This work has seen the Nubian giraffe population increase by more than 600 individuals over the last 10 years, with numbers continuing to increase year on year.
“The recovery of the Nubian giraffe in Uganda is a massive success story and shows what science-led conservation can achieve.
“It also showcases why continued protection efforts in Africa, paired with coordinated conservation breeding in zoos, remain so important for the future of the northern giraffe.”
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