In another sign of the human population’s mismanagement of our dear
planet Earth, scientists have declared a subspecies of giraffes endangered.
On Thursday (July 11) the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) announced the endangered status of Masai giraffes, a subspecies
spread throughout Kenya and Tanzania, primarily due to poaching and changes in
land use.
An estimated 35,000 Masai giraffes remain, however their population has
decreased by nearly 50 per cent in the last three decades. Over the same time
frame, Africa’s entire giraffe population has fallen by 40 per cent, National
Geographic reports.
Masai Giraffes Declared Endangered After Poaching Halves
PopulationMatthew Smith/Flickr
According to Tanya Sanerib, international legal director for the Center
of Biological Diversity, the Masai giraffe is iconic, the ‘quintessential’
giraffe you’d think of picturing the animal.
The announcement of this species to be declared endangered is a wake-up
call, Sanerib says.
She told National Geographic:
This was devastating news…It really sounds the alarm bell.
It really indicates that we need to be doing more for giraffes
internationally and with whatever tools are available.
Giraffes as a general species (Giraffa camelopardalis) are already
included on the IUCN’s Red List as ‘vulnerable’, however this is the first time
the Masai subspecies (Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. tippelskirchi) has been
assessed on its own.
‘Endangered’ is a step closer to extinction than ‘vulnerable’.
There are nine subspecies; Masai and reticulated giraffes are
endangered, Nubian and Kordofan giraffes are critically endangered.
While poaching is illegal in Kenya and Tanzania, they are poached for
their hide, meat, bones and tails.
An estimated 2-10 per cent of their population is hunted illegally in
Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, the IUCN say.
Civil unrest and emerging markets for giraffe parts - including
tail-hair jewellery and bone carvings - has led to the increase in poaching.
Tanzanian media have reported there is a belief that giraffe bone
marrow and brains can cure HIV and AIDS.
Julian Fennessy, co-director and co-founder of the nonprofit Giraffe
Conservation Foundation, said:
They’re the forgotten megafauna, so to speak.
They’ve sort of slipped away, sadly, while more attention has been
given to elephant, rhino, lion, and other species.
Comments
Post a Comment