We are working with our colleagues at the Edinburgh Zoo to use modern DNA tools to identify our giraffes. It is suspected that they are Nubian giraffe, a highly threatened subspecies of the giraffe that has suffered a major collapse in recent years due to habitat destruction, poaching and armed conflict in their native habitat.

There are an estimated 100,000 giraffes currently alive in Africa. However, the wild populations are declining with several subspecies threatened with extinction. These include the Nubian giraffe from north-east Africa. The most secure populations are in the protected game reserves of Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Botswana.