Clasiffication - Blog Posts

The South African Giraffe is the last member of the giraffe family I've been studying, and it's been quite an adventure. While I still struggle to identify some of the subspecies, I feel confident in recognizing most of them.

South African Giraffe

The South African Giraffe, also known as the Cape Giraffe, is a fascinating subspecies with a population of approximately 37,000 individuals. Interestingly, it was once extinct in some of its native areas in Southern Africa, but thanks to reintroduction efforts, its population has seen an impressive 150% increase. This is certainly good news for this subspecies, which is now a common resident in zoos, private farms, and ranches around the world.

With its distinctive coat pattern of cream-colored patches with orange-brown edges, the South African Giraffe is a unique and beautiful animal. While habitat loss, poaching, and trophy hunting continue to threaten their populations, conservation efforts are helping to protect these magnificent creatures for future generations to enjoy.

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This is a family that has captivated me since I was a kid. Its strange shape and the resemblance to a kind of a little elephant, but also the fact that could be found in my country Colombia just fascinated me. I still remember the first time I saw a tapir and was able to touch it and feed it. However, a Malayan Tapir was an animal that I just could see a long time after, in the Singapore zoo. Store Instagram Malayan Tapir Is the only species that live out of America and the one with the most particular color palette. Its pattern is supposed to be used as camouflage but I don't really know if works. It is curious though, that the Panda shares the same pattern but they both aren't even far related.

Another curious thing is that the babies are very similar in coloration to the ones in America. Brownish color with white spots that are actually good for camouflage. They have very poor sigh but are compensated with a great sense of smell and hearing. Some scientist state that there is a subspecies of the Malayan Tapir (The Tapirus indicus brevetianus, Kuiper, 1926), with the particularity of being completely black. Registered for the first time in 1924, was captured and taken to the Rotterdam zoo, where died soon after. The second one was photographed in 2000. However, taking it as a subspecies because of its coloration is inaccurate since there are no further studies that demonstrate its validity. It is actually just a case of melanism. Still, both theories are yet to be confirmed. _____________________________________________________ Credits: Malayan TapirMelanistic Tapir _____________________________________________________

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Fin Whale

Formerly known Know as the Finback whale, Common rorqual, Herring whale, or Razorback whale, the Fin whale is the second largest whale on the planet. Its glamorous and slender shape make it one of the fastest rorquals despite its size. It was heavily hunting during the whaling times in the XX century but was able to recover and their numbers are somehow stable. Over 725,000 fin whales were reportedly taken from the Southern Hemisphere between 1905 and 1976. For this reason, the Southern Fin Whale is closer to extinction than the Northern Fin Whale. The North Pacific population is believed to be a third subspecies according to experts, however, more studies need to be done to validate this information. The Fin Whale is more related to the Humpback Whale and the Grey Whale. It is strange because these two rorquals belong to a different genus each.

The Bryde's Whale has been a kind of puzzle for scientists because three species use to fall into its category. This is called complex in taxonomy. In other words, three (or maybe four) species of whales were thought to be subspecies, (or just the same species) as the Bryde's whale.

I wonder why not just name all four species the same if they are so closely similar? The devil is in the details. Those little differences that make one species become different from others can be the starting point for a completely new animal in million years. On the other hand, those tiny changes also may be the ones that make the animal adapt better than its relatives and therefore survive the changes of the environment.

So if is similar in appearance, as it seems in the cetaceans, there are movements and changes that are only perceptible in millions of years of evolution.

Can I suppose that the Balaenopteridae family is a young one, therefore many of its members are closely similar? Could be...

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Eden's Whale Little is know about this whale since is thought to be a smaller form of Bryde's Whale and no studies have been done to corroborate this assumption or treat it as a different species. Still, its size can reach up to 11 meters and weigh up to 20 tons. Usually seen in pair or single individuals, still can form groups of 20 animals around feeding areas. The Bryde's whale and Eden's whale share morphological similarities making them had to identify. _________ Show me your love liking and sharing my content. Thank you!. Instagram Store

Antarctic Mink Whale.

First, it was believed to be a subspecies of the Mink Whale but in the 90's it was discovered to be a different species. Like the Mink Whale, it was ignored by whalers because its size made it one of the most abundant whales in the world. However, the decline of other whales, made the Mink Whale today one of the mainstays of the industry, therefore its numbers have started to decline too.

I don't believe whaling should be banned but I do believe it should have stronger control. I think cultures that do whaling shouldn't be deprived of something they have been doing for generations and also helped them to develop into the cultures and countries they are today. But it has to be responsible, as anything else.

These days we have been witnessed violent climate issues in different areas around the world that are just telling us what is coming in the near future if we don't change the way we treat the planet. Just take what you need so others also can have some.

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The last species of the Equidae family, The zebras! Zebras have three distinctive species and 10 subspecies. It is probably the most beloved of the equines, (apart from the horses of course) and it is indeed a very particular animal. 

On the other hand, to solve the mystery of the color of the zebras once and for all (if they are white with black stripes, or black with withe stripes), I can assure that these ones are black with white stripes.

Grevy’s Zebra or Imperial Zebra: The largest and the most threatened. Its population has declined from 15000 to 3000 since the 70′s. Although since 2008 it’s population has been stable. It differs in behavior from the other species because it doesn’t form big harems. It has narrower stripes and bigger size. Its main problem was hunting since its skin was highly appreciated in the market. Today the Grevy’s Zebra is protected in Ethiopia and Kenya making a decline in the hunting. However, habitat loss and competing for natural resources with livestock became its main issue. Posters in my store: Here 
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