--- description: A difference of as few as 70 genes led giraffes to distinguish themselves from their closest relative with their long necks title: Giraffe's Long Neck Explained By Science: It's in the Genes image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b1d6c3e5da058f/698893a3524fc0defadf808e/giraffe-photo-long-necks.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Science Explains Why the Giraffe Has Such a Long Neck  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 15, 2023 1:21 AM CUTPublished: May 18, 2016 12:28 PM CUT  The Serengeti National Park is a Tanzanian national park in the Serengeti ecosystem in Mara Region. It is famous for its annual migration of over 1.5 million white bearded wildebeest and 250,000 zebra and for its numerous Nile crocodile The Serengeti National Park is a Tanzanian national park in the Serengeti ecosystem in Mara Region. It is famous for its annual migration of over 1.5 million white bearded wildebeest and 250,000 zebra and for its numerous Nile crocodileGetty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 15, 2023 1:21 AM CUTPublished: May 18, 2016 12:28 PM CUT A difference of as few as 70 genes led giraffes to distinguish themselves from their closest relative by their long necks, according to new [research](http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/ncomms11519 "undefined"). Researchers behind the study, published in the journal _Nature Communications,_ sequenced the genomes of two giraffes and one okapi—the giraffe’s closest relative. The development of the long neck likely comes as a result of genetic changes to proteins that control growth and others that control the body and limb development. These genes also control how the cardiovascular system develops, which further helps explain how giraffes are able to pump blood around the body given their height. **Read More**: [See Photos of Endangered Species from the 1960s](http://time.com/3715338/endangered-species/ "undefined") The research could help further conservation efforts to protect the animal, researchers said. The giraffe population has declined by 40% over the past 15 years, according to a [press release](http://news.psu.edu/story/410769/2016/05/17/research/how-did-giraffe-get-its-long-neck "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4339778/giraffe-long-neck/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4339778/giraffe-long-neck/"},"headline":"Science Explains Why the Giraffe Has Such a Long Neck","datePublished":"2016-05-18T12:28:38.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T01:21:35.000Z","description":"It all comes down to as few as 70 genes","url":"https://time.com/4339778/giraffe-long-neck/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b1d6c3e5da058f/698893a3524fc0defadf808e/giraffe-photo-long-necks.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b1d6c3e5da058f/698893a3524fc0defadf808e/giraffe-photo-long-necks.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"giraffe photo long necks","caption":"giraffe photo long necks","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4339778/giraffe-long-neck/","name":"Science Explains Why the Giraffe Has Such a Long Neck"}}]}] ```