The average height of a giraffe is around 18 feet, but scientist stumbled upon two that are half the size. Conservation scientists discovered a Nubian giraffe in Uganda that is nine feet, four inches tall and then an Angolan giraffe that stood just eight and a half feet. The dwarfism is known among humans and captive animals due to inbreeding, but has rarely been observed among wild animals – and the recent finds are the first to be documented in giraffes. Although the disorder has lowered the survival rate among domestic animals, the giraffes are now mature adults and the dwarfism should not decrease their lifespan, according to scientists. The team found that the smaller giraffes had shorter legs than their counterparts, specifically shorter radius and metacarpal bones.

Source: Daily Mail January 06, 2021 23:35 UTC