If the peculiar appearance of the giraffe were not so familiar to us, these creatures would inspire the same wonder and disbelief with which we look today at reconstructions of extinct animals, such as a megatherium or a brachiosaurus. These astonishing animals, the tallest mammals on the planet, risk disappearing and leaving their mark only in natural history museums, just like the megafauna that came before them.

The dramatic decline of giraffes

Despite hardly going unnoticed, standing five metres tall and weighing a tonne, it seems that giraffe conservation has been neglected for far too long. Over the past three decades, their numbers have plummeted by 40 per cent, falling from 151,702–163,452 individuals in 1985 to 97,562 in 2015.

The vulnerability of the giraffe

Having taken stock of the drastic decline in giraffes (of which, according to a recent study, four species exist), the Iucn at the end of 2016 changed the threat status of these animals, moving it from "Least Concern" to "Vulnerable", skipping the "Near Threatened" category entirely and confirming the urgency of conserving them.

Why giraffes are disappearing

"These gentle giants have been overlooked and have already gone extinct in seven countries," declared the celebrated British naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Fewer than 100,000 giraffes currently roam the African savannahs — four times fewer than the population of African elephants. The main causes of the giraffe's disappearance are habitat loss and poaching. Human activities have gradually encroached on giraffe territory, forcing them into direct contact with people and exacerbating conflicts. These animals are illegally killed both by farmers protecting their crops and by poachers for their meat. As if that were not enough, they are also slaughtered for their tails, considered a true status symbol in some communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

How many species of giraffe are there

Most surviving giraffes live in southern and eastern Africa, with small populations in the west and centre of the continent. The recent taxonomic redefinition of giraffe species has, however, muddied the statistics. The Iucn currently recognises a single species and nine subspecies; of these, three have a growing population, five are in decline and one is stable. Genetic analyses conducted by researchers at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Goethe University suggest, however, that giraffes should be divided into four distinct species: the northern giraffe (with three subspecies), the southern giraffe (with two subspecies), the reticulated giraffe and the Masai giraffe.

Conservation strategies

If these findings were confirmed and accepted by the Iucn, a review of giraffe protection programmes could follow. Some species are indeed more threatened than others — northern giraffes in the wild, for example, number just five thousand. "If it is truly a different species, this makes it one of the most endangered mammals in the world," said Stephanie Fennessy, director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (Gcf). "If they belong to different species, they should be managed differently and we should not be mixing them."

The example of Niger

A positive example of giraffe conservation to serve as a model is that of Niger. In the 1990s, barely fifty giraffes survived in the West African state; today, thanks to the strict enforcement of anti-poaching laws, awareness-raising efforts and the mitigation of conflicts between farmers and giraffes (including micro-loans for farmers who respect giraffes), their numbers have risen to around 550 individuals.

Giraffes on the move

While poaching can be curbed, halting habitat loss is more complicated, as it would mean limiting the economic development of certain nations. Giraffes living in areas threatened by human expansion can, however, be relocated. Moving animals of that size is naturally no straightforward undertaking, but several successful operations have already been carried out. Last year, the Gcf and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (Uwa) relocated eighteen of the approximately one thousand Nubian giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) living in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, to move them away from an area where oil drilling was about to begin. Giraffes are wonderful animals, and their peculiar, disproportionate appearance must not make us forget the gravity of the risks they face and the urgency of protecting them from extinction.