African giraffes are in danger of becoming extinct according to statistics from the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
African giraffes are in danger of becoming extinct according to statistics from the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Over the last 15 years, the giraffe population has decreased by an estimated forty percent, going from 140 thousand living in Africa during 1999, to less than 80 thousand today.
Poaching in North Africa, along with habitat destruction and military activity in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, are all contributing to the decline of giraffe populations in Africa.
Giraffe expert Doctor Anne Dagg is quoted as saying: "There are nine different races and we’re probably going to lose some of them. It’s a terrible situation. They could become extinct."
Not all subspecies of giraffes in Africa are recognized by conservation surveys, so they are counted as a whole instead of by species.
According to one report, if the West African giraffe were classified as its own species, it would be the most endangered large mammal in all of Africa.
There have been conservation efforts to protect lions and elephants in Africa, but no long-term conservation plan has been implemented for giraffes, and they are still classified by International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of least concern.
