The Sad Tale of Giraffes Going Extinct

The IUCN red list claims giraffes are in the vulnerable status but in certain areas such as Kenya has been decreasing rapidly and are now considered critically endangered. The giraffes are found in many African countries and South Africa. The population of giraffes over time have been decreasing for various reasons whether it was from poaching, habitat loss, and deforestation. Lately they have been calling the giraffes the "silent extinction," due to its lack of attention leading their population to shrink. In some African countries the giraffes, "Are already extinct in seven countries: Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal." (Wild Tomorrow Fund) The numbers of the giraffes population have been drastically decreasing which is concern leading to a global problem that is threatening their survival through cruel acts of poaching, habitat loss, and deforestation that needs to implement the IUCN to stop ignoring the giraffes to be placed in their conservation list and to ban poaching in African countries, in particularly in Kenya. Please help protect our giraffes and their habitats with donating a piece of equipment such as camera traps, ranger boots, or ranger uniform, or even then by supporting the Wild Tomorrow Fund.

Many people are not aware of the situation, leading poachers accessible to keep hunting these creatures for their tails and the belief "In Tanzania some are poached due to a false hope that giraffe brains and bone marrow can cure HIV." It is not the only myth that African countries presume is needed from giraffes but also "The San people of the Kalahari believe giraffe blood can change the weather, and in the Congo, giraffe tails are used for marriage dowries." (Wild Tomorrow Fund) Not only are the giraffe tails used for marriage dowries but also for fly whisks, thread for sewing, good-luck bracelets, or stringing beads. It is also claimed that hunting meat from giraffes are used to feed the people who are hunting for elephants.

In Kenya "Giraffes have been declared critically endangered...Kenya Wildlife Service, the country has lost 40% of its giraffe population in the past 30 years." Not alone in Kenya but all of, "East Africa's giraffes have lost 70% of their natural habitat and wildlife within the last three decades." (Giraffes: The Long and The Short of Their Survival as a Species) The use of land has led giraffes population numbers to decrease because of, "People who are converting natural savannas to towns and farms, and cutting trees for fuelwood and charcoal industries, all of which potentially degrade giraffe habitat." (Human Settlements and Rainfall Affect Giraffe Home Ranges) Human disturbances has led the giraffes to fend for their survival by taking their habitats for our own gain where it was once giraffes local drinking water and forage has now been reduced. Where would they find food to feed themselves and their children, if it was reversed roles we wouldn't want this to happen to us.

We shouldn't allow the expansion of agriculture take control over all wildlife's habitat, because soon our wild animals would go extinct in Kenya but as well in other parts of Africa. Giraffes play an important role in our ecosystem, taking an animal off the pyramid can make a whole chain reaction of the existence of other animals. Knowing the decline of giraffes population has not led Kenya government officials to stop impending the destruction of land and the poaching for giraffes parts for their own personal gain. Please sign on to ask Kenya lands to be left alone so that the giraffes and other wildlife animal can stay safe and thrive in their habitat where they are meant to be. Their habitat was not given for humans, it was given for wildlife animals to prosper and grow in populations. We must urge Kenya government officials to put in place government level protections to this land and ban poaching.