Genetic bank of giraffes created in Costa Rica
897 views · Published 30 December 2018 · 6:41 · Indexed 15 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(25 Dec 2018) LEAD IN A group of giraffes has been brought to a park in Costa Rica in the hope of creating a genetic bank. The aim is that they will eventually reproduce and help save the species. STORY-LINE Far from the savannahs of Africa these reticulated giraffes are making La Ponderosa Adventure Park in Costa Rica their home. The species is classed as vulnerable on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of endangered species. The giraffes have been brought here in the hope of creating a genetic bank that will eventually reproduce and help save the species. "It has been as a commitment of the company to work to see if we can make the species subsist longer and prevent their extinction, if we can avoid it that way, it would be a good contribution on our part," says Rodrigo Soto Bolanos, the park's Project Manager. The giraffe is the tallest animal in the world, but there are currently only around 90,000 left in the wild. According to biologists, the park's similarity to the African savannah, the fertility of its land, its flora and the existence of water, could help enhance breeding amongst the giraffes. Sofi, the youngest giraffe in the park, was born in November 2018, and is very healthy, well developed and demonstrating natural growth. Dr Tania Pivovarova, a veterinarian at Ponderosa Adventure Park, explains how importing new genetic material improves chances of avoiding genetic mutations: "At present we have four generations, we have great-grandmother, grandmother, daughter and granddaughter. If we continue in this order, we will reproduce up to eight normal generations so as not to degrade (their genetic identity) due to consanguinity (degenerations in the species because they are from the same family). That is the capacity of this park at the moment. If we get an exchange of other genetic material from other males and females, this could impact reproduction in a more successful way. " According to the IUCN the giraffe population in Africa suffered a decline of 36-40 per cent between 1985-2015. The species faces threats from war, unrest, habitat loss and hunting. In 1985, there were between 151,000 and 163,000 giraffes but in 2015 the number was down to 97,562. As part of the park activities, a safari-style tour is offered, giving guides the chance to educate visitors on the plight of the world's tallest mammal. Park guide Juan Jose Jimenez explains to a group of tourists: "When in Africa these animals can no longer reproduce naturally, here we will have a bank that can serve as a reference to exchange semen or exchange animals." A tourist replies: "It's very important we make known in the world that Costa Rica can maintain a species as beautiful as this one." It's expected that this park will develop gene banks for other African species born in Costa Rica in the near future. East Africa's reticulated giraffe can be recognised by the network of smooth lines that surround the polygonal blocks on its coat. Also known as the Somali giraffe, reticulated giraffe numbers have plummeted in the past 30 years, from an estimated 35,000 - 40,000 in the early 1980s to approximately 8,600 individuals today. Habitat loss, civil unrest and illegal hunting are the driving factors behind the devastating decline, with large human population growth also occurring in countries were giraffe populations exist. Despite it being one of the most iconic animals in the world, the uniquely African giraffe has been poorly studied and historically overlooked in terms of conservation. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/3e529fe72d76e5fb35fb2c20145d910b
