Northern giraffe are considered Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN. In 2016, around 97,000 individuals from all subspecies were present in the wild. There are currently 5,195 northern giraffes. In the current IUCN taxonomic scheme there is only one species of giraffe with the name "G. camelopardalis" and nine subspecies. Three subspecies of northern giraffes are proposed. The giraffes have two horn-like protuberances known as ossicones on their foreheads. The northern giraffe's are longer and larger than that of the southern giraffes', though male northern giraffes have a third cylindrical ossicone in the center of the head just above the eyes which
Giraffidae million years ago) and the recent past. One major group of extinct giraffids, the sivatheres, had enormous, branching ossicones, and would have looked more like massive deer than giraffes. Molecular studies present the Giraffidae as a sister group to the Cervidae, Moschidae, and Bovidae. The giraffe stands tall, with males taller than females. The giraffe and the okapi have characteristic long necks and long legs. Ossicones are present on males and females in the giraffe but only on males in the okapi. Giraffids share many common features with other ruminants. They have cloven hooves and cannon bones, much like bovids,