Giraffe

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Re: Giraffe

Post by Lisbeth »

Giraffes are in trouble, says IUCN status update

Posted on 14 November, 2018 by News Desk in News, Research, Wildlife and the News Desk post series.

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West African giraffe © Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF)

Press release from Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF)

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species is once again drawing attention to the plight of giraffe. The IUCN Red List reveals that they are in serious trouble, with some now being considered as ‘Critically Endangered’. Many people first became aware of the declining numbers of the iconic giraffe when they were uplisted to ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List in 2016. Today’s IUCN update comes as a further reminder that some of the currently IUCN-recognised giraffe subspecies are in real trouble.

The conservation status of seven of the currently IUCN-recognised nine giraffe subspecies has been assessed – five of these subspecies for the first time ever. For many, it comes as a shock that three of the giraffe subspecies are now listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ (Kordofan and Nubian giraffe) and ‘Endangered’ (Reticulated giraffe), while others range from ‘Vulnerable’ (Thornicroft’s and West African giraffe) to ‘Near Threatened’ (Rothschild’s giraffe). Only Angolan giraffe – with their stronghold in Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe – seem to be out of trouble and are listed as ‘Least Concern’. Only the South African and Masai giraffe are yet to be assessed. While South African giraffe appear to be doing well, Masai giraffe have plummeted and will most likely be placed within one of the threatened categories of the IUCN Red List.

Image
Angolan giraffe © Emma Wells, Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF)

The updated assessments of these giraffe subspecies were undertaken by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group (GOSG), which is hosted by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) – who already, two years ago, sounded the alarm for the ‘silent extinction’ of giraffe.

“Whilst giraffe are commonly seen on safari, in the media, and in zoos, people – including conservationists – are unaware that these majestic animals are undergoing a silent extinction. While giraffe populations in southern Africa are doing just fine, the world’s tallest animal is under severe pressure in some of its core ranges across East, Central and West Africa. It may come as a shock that three of the currently recognised nine subspecies are now considered ‘Critically Endangered’ or ‘Endangered’, but we have been sounding the alarm for a few years now.” – says Dr Julian Fennessy, co-chair of the IUCN SSC GOSG, and Director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF).

In spite of this, there is also positive news in this latest IUCN announcement. Two subspecies that were previously considered ‘Endangered’ (West African and Rothschild’s giraffe) have since improved their conservation status. Concerted efforts by African governments and conservation organisations, under the guidance and support of GCF, have resulted in increasing numbers of both subspecies, and as a result have been downlisted to ‘Vulnerable’ and ‘Near Threatened’, respectively.

“This is a conservation success story and highlights the value of making proactive giraffe conservation and management efforts in critical populations across the continent. Working collaboratively with governments and other partners, we feel that our proactive measures are saving giraffe in some areas before it is too late. It is now timely to increase our efforts, especially for those listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ and ‘Endangered’.”– says Arthur Muneza, East-Africa Coordinator of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, and member of the IUCN SSC GOSG.

While IUCN still recognises giraffe as one species with nine subspecies, detailed collaborative genetic-based research carried out by GCF and its partners, and Senckenberg BiK highlights that there are four distinct species of giraffe – elevating some of the newly assessed subspecies to species level. While this might appear an academic exercise, the conservation implications are immense and they need to be reviewed as a matter of urgency. The Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) – which includes the ‘Critically Endangered’ Kordofan and Nubian giraffe, and the ‘Vulnerable’ West African giraffe – and Reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata) can be considered some of the most threatened large mammals in the wild, showing less than 5,200 and 15,785 individuals remaining in the wild, respectively.

Common name Previous Red List status Updated Red List status
Kordofan giraffe Not assessed Critically Endangered
Nubian giraffe Not assessed Critically Endangered
Reticulated giraffe Not assessed Endangered
Thornicroft’s giraffe Not assessed Vulnerable
West African giraffe Endangered (2008) Vulnerable
Rothschild’s giraffe Endangered (2010) Near Threatened
Angolan giraffe Not assessed Least Concern
Masai giraffe Not assessed Not assessed
South African giraffe Not assessed Not assessed

Human population growth poses the largest threat to giraffe in Africa today. Habitat loss and changes through expanding agriculture and mining, illegal hunting, increasing human-wildlife conflict, and civil unrest are all factors that are pushing giraffe towards extinction. However, with GCF giraffe have a strong advocate.

Steph Fennessy, Director of GCF and member of the IUCN SSC GOSG, points out that “the updated IUCN Red List assessment highlights what we have been saying for years: giraffe are in trouble and there is no one solution to giraffe conservation in Africa. Different scenarios require different approaches. As a small but impactful organisation, GCF works with partners throughout Africa to enhance giraffe conservation on the ground and, at the same time, collaborates internationally to rally support and awareness for giraffe, which will ultimately help to save them in the wild.”

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Nubian giraffe © Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF)

ABOUT THE GIRAFFE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION (GCF)

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) is the only organisation in the world that concentrates solely on the conservation and management of giraffe in the wild, throughout Africa. Currently working in twelve African countries, GCF is dedicated to a sustainable future for all giraffe populations in the wild, and seeks to provide a range of appropriate technical and financial support to partners, including several African governments, to help save giraffe before it is too late. For more information, visit our website: https://giraffeconservation.org/


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Re: Giraffe

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Niger to move protected giraffes as habitat shrinks

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AFP

Part of a group of a rare giraffes that has become a Niger tourist attraction is to be moved to a reserve 600 kilometres (400 miles) away owing to encroaching desert, farmland and increasing instances of them being struck by vehicles, officials said Wednesday.
“It’s to give the species better protection,” Environment Minister Almoustapha Garba told a media conference.

He explained that initially seven females and three males would be taken from a herd living in the southwest Koure region south of the capital Niamey and relocated in the Gadabedji Reserve in the centre of Niger, on the edge of the Sahara Desert.

The animals, known by the classification Giraffa camelopardalis peralta or more commonly the West African giraffe or Niger giraffe, has light-coloured spots and the herd in Niger is the last self-producing tower left in the world.

Under the supervision of animal protection associations, the number of West African giraffes in Koure grew from 50 in 1996 to an estimated 612 in 2017, according to environment ministry figures.

The animals are regularly seen crossing roads in the Koure region, to the delight of tourists but at a cost of some becoming roadkill when struck by trucks or buses.

Their shrinking habitat has forced them to venture hundreds of kilometres (miles) to forage, Omer Dovi of the Niger Giraffes Rescue Association. “Some giraffes have gone as far as the border with Mali where they have been killed by poachers,” he said.

The relocation programme is to be carried out jointly by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the Sahara Conservation Fund and the UN Development Programme. The cost of the operation was not given.

Experts were to monitor how the first 10 West African giraffes adapt to their new surroundings before deciding whether to transfer the rest of the group. The pilot herd were to be fitted with microchips to help geolocate them.

https://lowvelder.co.za/afp/511628/nige ... t-shrinks/


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Re: Giraffe

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Some fighting pics by BluTuna, 2014:
BluTuna wrote: Wed May 13, 2015 8:51 am

On the S130, some mismatched Giraffes sparring.
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Re: Giraffe

Post by Peter Betts »

Giraffe do well in the Mata Mata area of Kgalagadi
Mata Mata Giraffe.jpg


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Re: Giraffe

Post by Lisbeth »

Lovely picture \O

The giraffes do well also further down and I think that the number has grown quite a lot the last few years.


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Re: Giraffe

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A giraffe making a sound! :shock:

phpBB [video]


Lions love to try to bring down a giraffe, because if they do, it is a massive meal that can last sometimes up to a week!
This hunt didn’t go so well, it almost looked like the giraffe was just giving the lions a lift to the other side of the road! Africa’s version of Uber…

Francois Pienaar, safari guide, captured his best sighting ever last week in the Klaserie Game Reserve.
He tells LatestSightings.com the story: “On our early morning game drive, we found a pride of sleeping lions, as they usually do. My guests and I were watching them sleep, never expecting I was about to see the best sighting in my guiding career!

We only spent a couple of minutes with them before they started moving off after their morning nap. Whilst on our way following the lions, they spotted a very old giraffe bull unaware that a pride of lions had their eyes set on him.

We sat quietly in the vehicle as we watched the lions stalking this old bull.

After about 20 minutes of stalking, the chase was on! We raced in behind the lions, to see the action happening and hoping the lions would catch the big animal and bring it down.

As we tried to stay with these lions we saw some of the individuals grab at the legs and one female jumping on the back of the giraffe.
With a big struggle and to our amazement the lions finally got the giraffe to a stop and still trying to bring it to the ground.

The old bull giraffe, fighting to stay standing, managed to throw the lions off his back and fought his way out by trying to stomp on the lions.

After about 5 hours the lions finally gave up and the old bull lived to see another day.”


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Re: Giraffe

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Re: Giraffe

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O-/



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Kruger Sightings
‏Verified account @LatestKruger
19h19 hours ago

16:30
We saw this giraffe with a huge abscess!
“Where do we report it?”
H3, about 10m S of Renosterpan, going down to Malelane
Tinged by corrie


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Re: Giraffe

Post by Flutterby »

:shock: :-(


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Re: Giraffe

Post by Lisbeth »

This one is worse than the other two :shock: O-/


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