One of our favourite animals could be facing extinction
It’s one of the most beautiful, majestic creatures on the planet, but if we don’t act soon, the tallest land animal on Earth may be heading for extinction. Giraffe numbers have plummeted in the last few decades, with populations falling by almost 40 per cent from 160,000 in 1985 to 97,500 in 2015.
In fact, the giraffe threat level was upgraded from “least concern” to “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List, skipping the “near threatened” status altogether. The alert comes after decades of the animal being hunted for sport, poached for their tails, meat, and even for their skin and hair for use in jewellery.
“These gentle giants have been overlooked,” Sir David Attenborough said in June last year. “It’s well-known that African elephants are in trouble and there are perhaps just under half a million left. But what no-one realised is there are far fewer giraffes, which have already become extinct in seven countries.”
The crisis is yet another sad reminder of the world’s dire wildlife situation, with the current global extinction threat at its worst in around 65 million years. In fact, according to the WWF, the total number of vertebrate species has more than halved within the last 40-odd years.