We tend to think of giraffes as a single species, but in Kenya not one but three types of giraffe occupy the same scruffy grasslands. These three species–the Masai, Reticulated and Rothschild’s giraffe–often encounter one another in the wild and look similar, but they each maintain a unique genetic makeup and do not interbreed. And yet, any combination together in a zoo enclosure, and those different species will happily devote themselves to making hybrid giraffe babies.
What keeps these species apart in the wild?
According to their statistical model, researchers say, regional differences in rain–and the subsequent greening of the plains that it triggers–best explain genetic divergence between giraffe species
Read the full, original story here: Weather Prevents Different Giraffe Species From Interbreeding
