Wild Giraffes Are Suffering a 'Silent Extinction'

Earth's tallest animal is in deep trouble. Wild giraffe populations are plummeting due to poaching and habitat loss, with survey data showing the mammals' numbers have fallen more than 40 percent over the last 30 years. And unlike the well-known plight of gorillas, elephants, rhinos and other disappearing African icons, the decline of these serene giants has gone largely unnoticed.

About 150,000 wild giraffes existed as recently as 1985, but there are now fewer than 97,000, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which in 2016 moved giraffes from "Least Concern" to "Vulnerable" on its Red List of Threatened Species. In 2018, the IUCN issued new listings for seven of the nine giraffe subspecies, five of which had never been assessed before. It now lists three as "Critically Endangered" or "Endangered," two as "Vulnerable" and one as "Near Threatened," deeming only the Angolan giraffe safe enough for "Least Concern."

The overall giraffe population pales in comparison to African elephants, for example, which number around 450,000 but whose decline has drawn closer study and wider publicity. That contrast isn't meant to diminish the real danger facing elephants, but it does highlight what Namibia-based Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) director Julian Fennessey has called a "silent extinction" of giraffes.

But the tide may be turning.

'Under the radar'

"While there [has] been great concern about elephants and rhinos, giraffes have gone under the radar but, unfortunately, their numbers have been plummeting, and this is something that we were a little shocked about, that they have declined by so much in so little time," Fennessey told the BBC in 2016.

Despite their extreme height — adult males can stand nearly 20 feet (6 meters) tall — giraffes have been overlooked by many scientists and conservationists. This is likely due to a longstanding belief that giraffes are abundant, experts say, as well as a lack of definitive data proving otherwise.

"When I first became interested in giraffes in 2008 and started looking through the scientific literature, I was really surprised to see how little had been done," University of Minnesota Ph.D. student Megan Strauss told The New York Times in 2014. "It was amazing that something as well known as the giraffe could be so little studied."

Giraffes in jeopardy

The IUCN still considers all giraffes a single species with nine subspecies, although genetic research has raised a few questions about that in recent years, leading some scientists to push for a new giraffe taxonomy. The GCF, for instance, cites a study in Current Biology that identified four species of giraffe, acknowledging "this might appear an academic exercise" but arguing it could have major implications for conservation.

"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," the GCF writes, noting these giraffes now number fewer than 5,200 and 15,785 individuals in the wild, respectively.

Giraffes still inhabit 21 countries in Africa, but swaths of their habitat are being repurposed for human use, especially agriculture. Even in places where their native grasslands remain intact, fragmentation caused by development elsewhere can restrict their range and hinder genetic diversity, while climate change can encourage lengthy droughts that may compound other pressures. And beyond their rapidly changing environment — which lead desperate giraffes to feed on farmers' crops, making them seem like pests to local communities — the animals are also increasingly threatened by poaching.

Humans have a long history of hunting giraffes, seeking food as well as thick, durable skin to make clothing and other items. But a belief that giraffe brains and bone marrow can cure HIV has gained traction in Tanzania, reportedly pushing prices for a head or bones as high as $140 per piece. And since giraffes are relatively easy for humans to kill, often with a single gunshot, they've also become a popular source of food and extra income among Africa's growing hordes of elephant poachers.

Hints of hope

When humans do stick out their necks for giraffes, however, there's evidence it can improve the animals' fortunes. The West African giraffe, for example, was pushed to the brink of extinction in the 1990s by human population growth and a series of droughts. Down to just 50 individuals in 1996, the subspecies won legal protection from the government of Niger, helping it rebound to 250 individuals in 2010. Conservationists have also worked with villages in Niger to plant 5,300 acacia trees since 2012, reducing the need for giraffes to raid crops.

At the 2019 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, countries agreed to restrict the international trade in giraffe parts to help save the species from extinction. The treaty, which represents countries around the world, regulates the commercial sale of threatened species of plants and animals. Most of their work focuses on adding species to the Appendices, one of which bans all international trade connected to a species, and the second, which allows trade only from proven sustainable populations. About 90 percent of CITES listings appear on the second one, called Appendix II, according to John Platt of The Revelator.

The move is a step in the right direction, as previous changes to international law have shown. In 2018, the West African giraffe was relisted from Endangered to Vulnerable in the 2018 IUCN update, while Rothschild's giraffes were also upgraded from Endangered to Near Threatened. Both subspecies have seen their numbers grow in recent years, suggesting there's still time to save other giraffes, too.

"This is a conservation success story, and highlights the value of making proactive giraffe conservation and management efforts in critical populations across the continent," says Arthur Muneza, East Africa coordinator for the GCF, in a statement on the rebound of West African and Rothschild's giraffes. "It is now timely to increase our efforts, especially for those listed as 'Critically Endangered' and 'Endangered.'"