Giraffes Are Now Facing a Silent Extinction

Giraffes are now considered a vulnerable species after a sharp decline in population.

After the populations of giraffes, which are the world’s tallest animals, declined by 40 percent in the last 30 years, conservationists have decided to add them to the official list of threatened and endangered species.

Although giraffes were once classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being among the species of least concern, now the organization announced a reclassification of their status. The official announcement came during a biodiversity meeting in Mexico and determined that giraffes are now a vulnerable species.

Julian Fennessy, the co-chair of the giraffe specialist group with the IUCN, stated that despite their common presence in zoos and safaris, the animals are currently undergoing a silent extinction process. He noted that their populations dropped from around 151,000 in 1985 to below 100,000 last year. The main cause of the decline is very likely to be the gradual loss of habitat. However, poaching and various disease also contributed to the decline.

The animals are especially vulnerable from poaching in war-torn regions. For example, in South Sudan, there have been reports that the certain subspecies of giraffes have gone extinct already. Poachers in these types of regions target giraffes because of they can offer up to 600 pounds of meat as well as very valuable skin.

Nonetheless, conservationists expressed optimism regarding the ability to turn things around for the vulnerable animals. There are several ongoing conservation efforts in Africa. For example, South Africa’s conservation projects can provide clues on how to better protect several vulnerable species including giraffes.

Fortunately, giraffes can be very appealing to the general public and alert them to the plight of the animals should provide conservation efforts in both public as well as material support from potential donors. Giraffes can be excellent mascots to promote sympathy for all endangered species and their conservation efforts.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress which took place back in September urged members to enhance the monitoring of protection areas of the iconic animals with the purpose of both assuring their safety as well as counting the exact number of animals inside the respective areas.

What do you think about the declining giraffe numbers?? Should IUCN take more drastic measures to protect the animals?

Image source: Wikimedia

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Nancy Young

When I was younger I used to spend almost all of my free time playing computer games. My mom and dad would go mental over this. “You’re never going to do anything with your life if you are going to play games all day” they used to say. What was even more unusual was the fact that I played more games than most of the guys in my friend group. Looking back, I have to admit that I probably played a bit too much, but I also learned a lot of great things. When I turned 20 I decided that it was high-time to make some money of my own, but the only jobs I could get were that of waitress or cashier. How exciting. After several excruciating months of serving tables I had a great idea: since I love gaming so much, why don’t I write about it? That’s when I started doing small writing projects on Elance. Eventually, I got an offer for a part-time job. During that time I learned all about content marketing strategies and how search engines work. I started writing about various topics such as technology, health and lifestyle and discovered that I was actually good at it. On November 24, 2014, I became part of the ArgyllFreePress team.