Distribution: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique.

Size SH: 2.6m. W: 950kg

Description: There are four main species of giraffe that do not interbreed: Northern Giraffe with three subspecies: (Nubian Giraffe, Kordofan Giraffe and West African Giraffe), Southern Giraffe with two subspecies: (South African Giraffe and the Angolan Giraffe), Reticulated Giraffe with two subspecies: (Common Reticulated Giraffe and Rothscild’s Giraffe) and Masai Giraffe with two subspecies: (Common Masai Giraffe and Thornicroft’s Giraffe).

Tallest of the world’s hoofed animals, giraffes have 2 short skin-covered callous-tipped bony “horns” on the top of their head. Coat colour and spots or patterns varies quite a bit between sub-species.

Sex Determination: Mature bulls are considerably larger than the females, have a very strong odour and are normally quite a bit darker than the females. The horns on the males are bold on the top, and the females’ not.

Trophy Assessment: A big old dark bull is always the way to go.

Shot Placement: A giraffe’s vitals sits behind the 2 lumps of the shoulders and high up, If a body shot is not possible (broadside – on the shoulder between the crease and the centre line of the shoulder) a brain shot between the eye and ear or neck shot a hand width under the ears in the middle of the neck is also a good choice. A Frontal brain shot is never a good choice.