The giraffe, Girafa camelopardalis, is distributed widely in Africa, although in many territories numbers have decreased greatly during the past century. In West Africa, a few are said to live in the Ferlo district, but there are none in Gambia, Sierra Leone or Liberia. In French West Africa, the once extensive range of the giraffe has become very reduced, and it is now found in number in only two regions-the first in the Mtnaka district, and the second around Aderbissinat. The giraffe is rare in Nigeria and the French Cameroons, occurring in the northern and central districts of these territories. It becomes common in Oubangui and Tchad Provinces of French Equatorial Africa, and is widespread in the Sudan, occurring in Darfur, Kordofan, and further south in parts of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, and to the east of the White Nile. In Eritrea, the giraffe occurs in the extreme south-western corner of the country, and is probably found also over the border in the Walkait district of northern Abyssinia. The Common giraffe occurs along the western border of Ethiopia, but further inland, another variety, the Reticulated giraffe, is found in a few areas of southern Gallaland and Boran. In eastern Ethiopia, the Reticulated giraffe occurs in Ogaden and Aoulihan, but does not range as far east as British Somaliland. However, in Somalia the reticulated variety is found in central and southern regions of the territory, passing over the border into the Kenya Protectorate, where its southern range limit is marked by the Tana river. The Common giraffe is quite numerous in southern Kenya, but in Uganda it is found only in Karamoja, Lango and Acholi. In the Belgian Congo, the giraffe is confined entirely to the extreme north-eastern corner of the colony, where it is protected in the Garamba National Park. In Tanganyika the giraffe occurs in many northern and central areas, but is not found in Southern Province. The giraffe is absent from Nyasaland, and in Northern Rhodesia occurs only in two isolated regions- one in Barotseland, and the other in the Luangwa valley. In Mozambique it is rare and is found only in three southern localities. In Southern Rhodesia giraffes are commoner and occur in many southern and western districts. In northern Bechuanaland it is common, especially in Chobe and Ngamiland. A number of small herds occur in parts of southern Angola and northern South- West Africa, and in the Union of South Africa the giraffe is found in number only in the Kruger National Park.
