A Deliberate Mix

The recent discussions about the hybrid status of giraffes have only formalized what many zoo professionals have long suspected about giraffes in American zoos.  Namely, that they are mutts.  Sure, the consensus earlier had been that they were mixes of different subspecies, rather than different subspecies, but when the authors of the previously shared article claimed that hybrid giraffes were of relatively little conservation value, they weren't really shocking anyone. 

Today, accredited zoos scrupulously take steps to avoid hybridization.  For example, they may try not to house individuals of closely related species in the same enclosure, or at least not potential mates.  Among some zoos and private collectors and hobbyists, however, hybridization can occur deliberately.

Sometimes it's more aesthetics.  The green tree python and the carpet python, for example, can produce hybrid snakes of striking beauty when crossbred.  Likewise, a scarlet macaw and a blue-and-gold macaw result in a bird called the Catalina macaw by hobbyists.  Perhaps the best example among zoos are the various cat hybrids, such as ligers, which have enormous size and a striking appearance - to say nothing of health problems.

Other hybrids are produced with more pragmatic goals in mind (similar to how a horse and donkey are crossed to produce a mule).  Falconers prize the gyrfalcon for its size and beauty, but that arctic-dwelling falcon is susceptible to diseases in the temperate zone.  By crossbreeding it with another falcon, falconers can fly a bird that has the size and strength of the gyrfalcon and the hardiness of its more southerly relative.

And, of course, sometimes hybrids just happen through carelessness.  I've worked with hybrid antelope (gemsbok/scimitar-horned oryx), felids (bobcat/Eurasian lynx), and primates (gibbon cross).  I've seen several crossed waterfowl and parrots, the romantic liaisons of lone males and females without suitable companions of their own species.  And more years it has been known that polar and brown bears will readily hybridize in zoos, something which is now seen in the wild with increasing frequency as well.

Despite the lack of conservation value of hybrids, I doubt that hybrid giraffes will disappear from zoos any time soon.  Giraffes are among the most popular of zoo animals in accredited and unaccredited facilities alike.  The AZA has begun transitioning to purebred individuals of one species, the Masai giraffe, a transition that was started before the four giraffes were recognized as full species.  Still, the Masais represent only a small portion of the North American zoo giraffe population, and their numbers, while growing, aren't enough to fill the demands of zoos for exhibition purposes.  Until their population grows large enough, it's likely that hybrids will still be produced to fill those spaces.