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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/giraffes/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Giraffes</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/giraffes/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>First Angolan giraffes return to Bicuar National Park after 25 years</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/first-angolan-giraffes-return-to-bicuar-national-park-after-25-years/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/first-angolan-giraffes-return-to-bicuar-national-park-after-25-years/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2026 19:46:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alex Megerle]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/21125639/GCF-and-team-members-observe-giraffes-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=330292</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Angola, and Central Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Environment, Giraffes, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Mammals, Reintroductions, Rewilding, Solutions, Ungulates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Peering left and right, the giraffe takes several measured steps down the truck’s ramp. It’s late July and the animal’s brown and cream coat contrasts with a pure blue sky overhead. The giraffe steps off onto the scrubby vegetation and is quickly joined by a companion. With tails flicking back and forth, the pair take their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Peering left and right, the giraffe takes several measured steps down the truck’s ramp. It’s late July and the animal’s brown and cream coat contrasts with a pure blue sky overhead. The giraffe steps off onto the scrubby vegetation and is quickly joined by a companion. With tails flicking back and forth, the pair take their time moving away from the truck that has brought them here, to Bicuar National Park in southwest Angola. They’d endured a 48-hour drive from their natal home in Namibia. In a video of the giraffes’ release shared by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), the animals look in the direction of conservationists who are gathered a safe distance away and at the trees scattered along the horizon. Then, as a third giraffe joins them, they canter away. Angola’s National Institute for Biodiversity and Protected Areas (INBAC) and the GCF, a Namibia-based nonprofit, worked together to make this happen. Twelve Angolan giraffes became the first of the subspecies to set foot in Bicuar National Park in roughly 25 years. Habitat loss and poachers had wiped them out here. The animals were also wildlife victims of Angola’s brutal, 27-year civil war, which raged from 1975-2002 and left the country in ruins. The animals disappeared from much of their historic range in the country. The giraffes reintroduction is part of a wider Angolan development plan to improve national park management,  created in alignment with the National Giraffe Conservation Action Plan for Angola (2026–2030), recently endorsed by the country’s president,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/first-angolan-giraffes-return-to-bicuar-national-park-after-25-years/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/first-angolan-giraffes-return-to-bicuar-national-park-after-25-years/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330292</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New study splits giraffe experts on future wild captures for zoos</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-study-splits-giraffe-experts-on-future-wild-captures-for-zoos/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-study-splits-giraffe-experts-on-future-wild-captures-for-zoos/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Dec 2025 15:05:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shradha Triveni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/15141413/5.-Southern-giraffe-c-GCF-Billy-Dodson-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311371</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Kenya, North America, South Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Captive Breeding, Conservation, Environment, Genetics, Giraffes, Mammals, Species Discovery, Wildlife, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the vast savanna grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa towers the giraffe, draped in mosaics of brown and tan patches. Long regarded as a single species, this iconic African megafauna was recently reclassified by the global wildlife conservation authority IUCN into four distinct species: the northern (Giraffa camelopardalis), reticulated (G. reticulata), Masai (G. tippelskirchi) and southern [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the vast savanna grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa towers the giraffe, draped in mosaics of brown and tan patches. Long regarded as a single species, this iconic African megafauna was recently reclassified by the global wildlife conservation authority IUCN into four distinct species: the northern (Giraffa camelopardalis), reticulated (G. reticulata), Masai (G. tippelskirchi) and southern giraffe (G. giraffa). The tallest living land animal, giraffes wander the open grasslands of Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and other African nations, as well as appearing in zoos around the world. But their genetic distinctness is largely limited to the wild, as many giraffes held in zoos are now known to be hybrids. Given the new discovery that giraffes aren’t one species but four, the scientific community remains split on how to proceed with conservation, especially in zoos. Hybrid giraffes and conservation A new study argues that excessive hybridization of captive giraffes in North American zoos diminishes their conservation value. The researchers analyzed the genetics of 52 such giraffes and then compared their genes to 63 wild giraffes in Africa. The results found that most giraffes in North America were of mixed ancestry, primarily between northern and reticulated giraffes. Only a few giraffes retained their species’ unmixed genetics. Alfred L. Roca, professor at the Animal Sciences Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and lead author of the study, said decades of interbreeding of giraffes in North American zoos has eroded their value as an insurance population. The study shows that offspring of genetically distant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-study-splits-giraffe-experts-on-future-wild-captures-for-zoos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-study-splits-giraffe-experts-on-future-wild-captures-for-zoos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311371</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After USAID cut, Ethiopia&#8217;s largest community conservation area aims for self-sufficiency</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/after-usaid-cut-ethiopias-largest-community-conservation-area-aims-for-self-sufficiency/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/after-usaid-cut-ethiopias-largest-community-conservation-area-aims-for-self-sufficiency/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jun 2025 16:47:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Solomon Yimer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/27164609/Capture-decran-le-2025-06-27-a-12.45.39-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301551</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Ethiopia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Community-based Conservation, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Culture, Deforestation, Economics, Ecotourism, Elephants, Environment, Finance, Foreign Aid, Funding, Giraffes, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Natural Resources, Politics, Poverty, Sustainability, Tourism, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ADDIS ABABA — Local leaders at Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area are working to become financially self-sufficient and continue protecting land and wildlife independently, following the abrupt cut of funding from USAID earlier this year. The Tama Community Conservation Area (TCCA), started in 2022 with $8.5 million from the USAID’s BIOM project, had made progress [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ADDIS ABABA — Local leaders at Ethiopia’s largest community conservation area are working to become financially self-sufficient and continue protecting land and wildlife independently, following the abrupt cut of funding from USAID earlier this year. The Tama Community Conservation Area (TCCA), started in 2022 with $8.5 million from the USAID’s BIOM project, had made progress in environmental stewardship. It helped cut down illegal hunting and deforestation, according to the project office, while supporting local people to lead efforts to protect nature across 197,000 hectares (487,000 acres). The project also created jobs and gave several Indigenous communities in the region the legal right to manage their ancestral lands. As a result, wildlife populations of elephants and giraffes have increased, say conservationists. However, the sudden funding cut this January sparked pessimism among community members, many of whom returned to illegal hunting and deforestation, while fueling land-grab rumors that have left many fearful for their land rights. With external support dwindling, the project office, the TCCA council and community leaders are now working to establish independent offices and develop plans that will sustain conservation efforts while also benefiting the local community. Cool Ground, a nonprofit supporting the Indigenous community, has stepped in following the termination of the BIOM project with its own local funds to help manage the conservation effort and keep the project running until September. An aerial view of the Omo River, near the Tama Community Conservation Area. Image courtesy of the Oakland Institute. Barkede Kulumedere, a project manager at Cool&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/after-usaid-cut-ethiopias-largest-community-conservation-area-aims-for-self-sufficiency/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301551</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Luxury hunting firm linked to decades of poaching in Tanzania, whistleblowers say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/luxury-hunting-firm-linked-to-decades-of-poaching-in-tanzania-whistleblowers-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/luxury-hunting-firm-linked-to-decades-of-poaching-in-tanzania-whistleblowers-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2024 09:49:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/21225837/2-Ngorongoro-giraffe-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286382</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bushmeat, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Policy, Ethics, Giraffes, Governance, Hunting, Illegal Trade, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Mongabay investigation, Poaching, Protected Areas, Trophy Hunting, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LOLIONDO, Tanzania — Whistleblowers speaking to Mongabay have reported instances of poaching over decades in Tanzania linked to a luxury hunting firm catering to the United Arab Emirates’ elites and royals. The insiders are from Ortello — sometimes spelled Otterlo — Business Corporation (OBC), which operates shoots in Loliondo, part of Tanzania’s northern Ngorongoro district. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LOLIONDO, Tanzania — Whistleblowers speaking to Mongabay have reported instances of poaching over decades in Tanzania linked to a luxury hunting firm catering to the United Arab Emirates’ elites and royals. The insiders are from Ortello — sometimes spelled Otterlo — Business Corporation (OBC), which operates shoots in Loliondo, part of Tanzania’s northern Ngorongoro district. Interviews with the sources, who requested pseudonyms due to safety concerns, provide a rare insight into OBC-organized hunting expeditions, which attracted members of UAE royalty and their associates at least once or twice a year from the 1990s until as late as 2016. They report that some of these trips culminated in live animals being flown abroad. Exports of live wildlife have been outlawed in Tanzania since 2016 to protect rare animals and birds. In 2022, lawmakers swiftly reversed a controversial decision to lift the ban that had been in place for six years. The sources’ testimony comes as Tanzanian authorities have served waves of eviction notices affecting Maasai pastoralists in and around Loliondo, as part of efforts to lease 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles) of ancestral land to OBC. In 2023, an Amnesty International report condemned government forces for violence and mass arrests that left an estimated 70,000 Maasai without access to their traditional grazing areas. To verify the whistleblowers’ allegations as fully as possible, we observed OBC’s hunting estate, interviewed nearby villagers and obtained court documents, company filings and shipping records. Based in Dubai, OBC was registered as a foreign company in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/luxury-hunting-firm-linked-to-decades-of-poaching-in-tanzania-whistleblowers-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/luxury-hunting-firm-linked-to-decades-of-poaching-in-tanzania-whistleblowers-say/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286382</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Where are the giraffes hiding? Predictive tracking tech points the way</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/where-are-the-giraffes-hiding-predictive-tracking-tech-points-the-way/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/where-are-the-giraffes-hiding-predictive-tracking-tech-points-the-way/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2023 12:09:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/08/17120134/giraffe-electronic-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=272226</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Endangered Species, Environment, Giraffes, Mammals, Research, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Stephanie Fennessy and her husband have been tagging giraffes in Africa since the early 2000s. The couple initially started out by using modified elephant collars. They later switched to using head harnesses, and then tags that could be fitted onto ossicones, the pair of horn-like structures at the top of a giraffe’s head. The latest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Stephanie Fennessy and her husband have been tagging giraffes in Africa since the early 2000s. The couple initially started out by using modified elephant collars. They later switched to using head harnesses, and then tags that could be fitted onto ossicones, the pair of horn-like structures at the top of a giraffe’s head. The latest iteration in this evolution comprises GPS tags that can be attached to ears or tails. Over the years, as the tags have shrunk in size, the volume of data they’ve been able to gather has grown. Fennessy’s early tags could only track the movements of giraffes. Now, that information is being combined with satellite imagery and machine-learning tools to predict where giraffes might be, as well as to identify suitable habitats where the animals could be moved to for conservation purposes. “It is helping us to find still remnant populations of giraffes that we don&#8217;t know about yet by just looking at what habitat they theoretically can thrive in,” Fennessy, executive director and co-founder of Namibia-based nonprofit the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, told Mongabay in a video interview. “It also helps us identify potential habitats and support a lot of translocations to bring giraffes back into their historical habitats.” A tag attached to the tail of a giraffe. Image courtesy of GCF. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation collaborated with other organizations, including the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, to test out the feasibility of the technique to protect reticulated giraffes. A study done by the team, and published&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/where-are-the-giraffes-hiding-predictive-tracking-tech-points-the-way/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-272226</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kordofan giraffes face local extinction in 15 years if poaching continues</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/kordofan-giraffes-face-local-extinction-in-15-years-if-poaching-continues/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/kordofan-giraffes-face-local-extinction-in-15-years-if-poaching-continues/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Aug 2023 15:33:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/08/16153008/Screen-Shot-2023-08-16-at-8.29.30-AM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=272207</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Cameroon, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Giraffes, Green, Hunting, Mammals, Over-hunting, Poaching, Protected Areas, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If just two Kordofan giraffes are killed each year, the subspecies could be locally extinct in just 15 years within Cameroon&#8217;s Bénoué National Park. This is according to a new study by the University of Bristol and the Bristol Zoological Society, published in the African Journal of Ecology. &#8220;We expected poaching to be driving population [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If just two Kordofan giraffes are killed each year, the subspecies could be locally extinct in just 15 years within Cameroon&#8217;s Bénoué National Park. This is according to a new study by the University of Bristol and the Bristol Zoological Society, published in the African Journal of Ecology. &#8220;We expected poaching to be driving population decline within the park. However, we did not expect that extinction could be reached within such a short time scale,&#8221; study co-author Samuel Penny, a lecturer at the Bristol Zoological Society’s Institute of Conservation Science and Learning, told Mongabay in an email. “This is worrying.” Kordofan giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum) are a critically endangered subspecies of giraffes found across Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. The overall population stands at around 2,300 individuals, of which there are estimated to be fewer than 300 individuals in Bénoué National Park. A Kordofan giraffe in Cameroon&#8217;s Bénoué National Park. Only an estimated 300 individuals remain in the park, threatened by poaching and habitat loss. Image courtesy of Bristol Zoological Society. A Kordofan giraffe caught on camera by a camera trap. Image courtesy of the Bristol Zoological Society. Giraffes are hunted illegally for their meat, bones, hair and tails. Their skins are also used in some luxury goods and as rugs. These large mammals are an easy kill compared to other ungulates, meaning poachers get a big bang for their buck and a lot of meat. “Recent confirmed reports of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/kordofan-giraffes-face-local-extinction-in-15-years-if-poaching-continues/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-272207</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;Strange&#8217; giraffoid fossil shows giraffes evolved long necks to win mates: study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/strange-giraffoid-fossil-shows-giraffes-evolved-long-necks-to-win-mates-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/strange-giraffoid-fossil-shows-giraffes-evolved-long-necks-to-win-mates-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jun 2022 17:59:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/06/06170000/Figure-0-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=256836</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Evolution, Fossils, Giraffes, Research, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have puzzled over the distinctive form of giraffes at least since Charles Darwin and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (figuratively) butted heads over how the towering ungulates got their long necks. The Darwinian theory still prevails, but which of the two processes —natural selection or sexual selection—plays a more important role still divides evolutionary biologists. A new [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have puzzled over the distinctive form of giraffes at least since Charles Darwin and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (figuratively) butted heads over how the towering ungulates got their long necks. The Darwinian theory still prevails, but which of the two processes —natural selection or sexual selection—plays a more important role still divides evolutionary biologists. A new study led by scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences published in the journal Science adds weight to the sexual selection hypothesis. The discovery of the fossil of Discokeryx xiezhi, an ancient cousin of present-day giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) that roamed the earth around 17 million years ago, suggests long necks win giraffe mating wars. “Their simple message is that sexual selection played a big role in one of the ancestors of the present-day giraffe, and thus it opens the door for other members of this diverse lineage to show sexually selected necks and heads,” said Rob Simmons, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Giraffes are found only in east and southern Africa. Simmons, along with Lue Scheepers, put forward the sexual selection hypothesis back in 1996. The leading explanation at that time was straightforward: long necks allow giraffes to feed on tall trees and outcompete other browsers. It improves the animal’s chances of survival, so the trait is passed on to future generations. But, certain characteristics also make males more attractive to females and ensure greater reproductive success. In giraffes, the reasoning goes,  longer necks were more efficient in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/strange-giraffoid-fossil-shows-giraffes-evolved-long-necks-to-win-mates-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/strange-giraffoid-fossil-shows-giraffes-evolved-long-necks-to-win-mates-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-256836</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Does trophy hunting hurt giraffe populations? A planned lawsuit says it does</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/does-trophy-hunting-hurt-giraffe-populations-a-planned-lawsuit-says-it-does/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/does-trophy-hunting-hurt-giraffe-populations-a-planned-lawsuit-says-it-does/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Oct 2020 15:14:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/10/16145435/10724131114_92ea844813_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=235856</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Giraffes, Green, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hunting, Over-hunting, Species, Trophy Hunting, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Skinned, stuffed and tanned, wild giraffes are up for sale at dozens of stores across the United States. While importing and selling wild giraffes and giraffe products, such as giraffe rugs and taxidermied trophies, is legal in the U.S., conservationists and animal welfare advocates say these practices are nudging the species closer toward extinction. On [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Skinned, stuffed and tanned, wild giraffes are up for sale at dozens of stores across the United States. While importing and selling wild giraffes and giraffe products, such as giraffe rugs and taxidermied trophies, is legal in the U.S., conservationists and animal welfare advocates say these practices are nudging the species closer toward extinction. On Oct. 15, a coalition of groups, including the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Humane Society International (HSI), and the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a notice of intent to sue the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The federal agency is tasked with managing wildlife and natural habitats, but the groups say it’s failing to protect giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) through the nation’s Endangered Species Act (ESA). Three years ago, the coalition had petitioned USFWS to uplist giraffes as an endangered species through the ESA, but the agency failed to respond, even though it’s legally obligated to do so within a year, Laura Smythe, staff attorney at HSUS, told Mongabay in an email. The groups filed an initial lawsuit against USFWS in 2018, which prompted the agency to say that giraffes may qualify for protection under the ESA — but no further steps were taken, according to HSUS. Giraffe in Uganda. Image by Rod Waddington / Flickr. The agency’s inaction, Smythe said, implies that it is “catering to the special interests of trophy hunters, and not doing what is in the best interest of the species.” “[T]he U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/does-trophy-hunting-hurt-giraffe-populations-a-planned-lawsuit-says-it-does/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/does-trophy-hunting-hurt-giraffe-populations-a-planned-lawsuit-says-it-does/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-235856</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protecting African wildlife: A defense of conservation territories (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/protecting-african-wildlife-a-defense-of-conservation-territories-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/protecting-african-wildlife-a-defense-of-conservation-territories-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Aug 2020 18:05:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Leif Brottem]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/08/27173600/west_african_giraffe_herd_3_cgcf-768x400.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=234334</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Benin, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Chad, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Commentary, Conservation, Elephants, Giraffes, Parks, Poaching, Poverty, Poverty Alleviation, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[African Parks Network (APN) recently announced it would formally take over the management of the Benin side of W National Park, which comprises a major portion of the largest intact ecosystem in West Africa. Such transfers are often criticized as de facto privatization by critics of territorial conservation strategies but I have seen first hand the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[African Parks Network (APN) recently announced it would formally take over the management of the Benin side of W National Park, which comprises a major portion of the largest intact ecosystem in West Africa. Such transfers are often criticized as de facto privatization by critics of territorial conservation strategies but I have seen first hand the benefits that professional managers can bring and the damage caused by negligent or under-funded public agencies. The most important question remains: will wildlife be protected and will local people be able to pursue their livelihoods at the same time? W National Park, which spans Benin, Niger, and Burkina Faso, was once a “paper park” that had essentially been abandoned by the conservation community. Yet now it, along with the adjacent Pendjari National Park, represents one of the last hopes for wildlife in western Africa. Nearly 20 years ago, I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in a community adjacent to W National Park  and was fortunate enough to work closely with the ECOPAS Project, which played a major role in getting the protected area back on its feet from 2001 to 2008. One of its major initiatives was to establish a buffer zone for sustainable resource use by local communities along the boundary of the park.  During my two years of service, I worked closely with the farmers and livestock herdsmen in the zone and felt a great deal of optimism that I was seeing a “win-win” for parks and people. But it was not to be, as the European Union-funded project&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/protecting-african-wildlife-a-defense-of-conservation-territories-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/protecting-african-wildlife-a-defense-of-conservation-territories-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-234334</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Poachers kill two rare white giraffes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/poachers-kill-two-rare-white-giraffes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/poachers-kill-two-rare-white-giraffes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2020 23:26:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/09/16161344/snow-white-giraffes-wide1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=227778</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Environment, Giraffes, Mammals, Poaching, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Poachers have killed two rare white giraffes in Kenya according to a group that worked to protect them and their habitat. On Tuesday, the Hirola Conservation Programme reported that the mother giraffe and her calf were found dead after a long absence. Wildlife officials said the state of their remains indicate the giraffes have been [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Poachers have killed two rare white giraffes in Kenya according to a group that worked to protect them and their habitat. On Tuesday, the Hirola Conservation Programme reported that the mother giraffe and her calf were found dead after a long absence. Wildlife officials said the state of their remains indicate the giraffes have been dead at least four months. &#8220;This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world who are custodians of the white giraffes,&#8221; said Mohammed Ahmednoor, manager of Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy in northeastern Kenya, in a statement. &#8220;This is a long term loss given that genetics studies and research which were significant investment into the area by researchers, has now gone to the drain. Further to this the white giraffe was in a big boost to tourism in the area.&#8221; Adult snow white giraffe with a normal reticulated giraffe and a leucistic giraffe calf to its left. Courtesy of the Hirola Conservation Programme The white giraffes are leucistic &#8212; not albino &#8212; meaning they have a genetic condition that inhibits pigmentation in skin cells. Albinos lack melanin throughout their bodies. The mother and calf were first reported in June 2017 by community members near the Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy in Garissa county in northeastern Kenya. The pair attracted global attention when the Hirola Conservation Program released a video. “These rare snow white giraffes shocked many locals including myself but these gave us renewed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/poachers-kill-two-rare-white-giraffes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/poachers-kill-two-rare-white-giraffes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-227778</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can camera traps diagnose the severity of a mystery giraffe skin disease?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/can-camera-traps-diagnose-the-severity-of-a-mystery-giraffe-skin-disease/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/can-camera-traps-diagnose-the-severity-of-a-mystery-giraffe-skin-disease/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Oct 2019 12:15:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/10/30071244/DSC_6628_Ruaha-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=223933</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Atlantic Forest, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Giraffes, Green, Mammals, Protected Areas, Research, Technology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Giraffes have many problems to deal with. There’s habitat loss and poaching. Then there’s a mysterious skin disease that’s been recorded in 13 giraffe populations in seven African countries. The condition, termed simply the giraffe skin disease, starts off as small nodules on the animal’s skin. The nodules can develop into dry, scaly patches, which [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Giraffes have many problems to deal with. There’s habitat loss and poaching. Then there’s a mysterious skin disease that’s been recorded in 13 giraffe populations in seven African countries. The condition, termed simply the giraffe skin disease, starts off as small nodules on the animal’s skin. The nodules can develop into dry, scaly patches, which then turn into large crusty, grayish-brown lesions filled with blood or pus. Researchers are only beginning to wrap their heads around the little-understood disease. Arthur Muneza, a doctoral student at Michigan State University and East Africa coordinator of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, is one of them. Giraffe skin disease can start off as small nodules on the skin that turn into large crusty lesions. Images by Michael Brown, courtesy of Arthur Muneza. Muneza has been studying the disease in Tanzania, where it’s widespread, affecting the giraffe’s long limbs. About a quarter of the giraffes in Serengeti National Park show signs of the disease. In Tarangire National Park, some 63 percent of giraffes suffer from it, while in Ruaha National Park, around 86 percent of the giraffe population sport the characteristic skin lesions. “To go to an area and see almost all the animals with signs of this disease is quite surprising,” Muneza told Mongabay. The high prevalence of the disease in Tanzania sparked a question in Muneza’s mind. How severe is the infection among Tanzania’s giraffes? A few studies have tried to answer this question in the past, but their classifications of giraffe skin disease&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/can-camera-traps-diagnose-the-severity-of-a-mystery-giraffe-skin-disease/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-223933</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New maps show where giraffes live — mostly outside protected areas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/new-maps-show-where-giraffes-live-mostly-outside-protected-areas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/new-maps-show-where-giraffes-live-mostly-outside-protected-areas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Oct 2019 14:45:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/10/22101420/Masaai-giraffe-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=223658</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Giraffes, Green, Mammals, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[You know a giraffe when you see one. But where in Africa can you see one? Unlike lions and rhinos, the world’s tallest animal is grossly understudied, with very little known about it, including its distribution in Africa. Until recently, maps of where giraffes occurred had been based largely on crude estimates and some guesswork. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[You know a giraffe when you see one. But where in Africa can you see one? Unlike lions and rhinos, the world’s tallest animal is grossly understudied, with very little known about it, including its distribution in Africa. Until recently, maps of where giraffes occurred had been based largely on crude estimates and some guesswork. Now, by combining the latest data from on-the-ground and aerial surveys, following movements of GPS-tagged animals, consultation with experts, and reviewing the scientific literature, researchers have produced a series of giraffe distribution maps in a new study, which they say presents a more accurate picture of where the giraffe lives. As it turns out, around 70 percent of the giraffe’s range occurs outside government-managed protected areas, the study found. The previous giraffe range maps were published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2016. Although recent, those maps weren’t based on the most up-to-date and accurate data on the animals, Jenna Stacey-Dawes, a co-author of the study and researcher at San Diego Zoo Global, told Mongabay. “Just looking at the range maps that existed for reticulated giraffe, which is the species that our project focuses on in northern Kenya, we realized that the IUCN maps weren’t showing exactly where giraffes are occurring in northern Kenya,” Stacey-Dawes said. “Historic maps for giraffe vary wildly from source; they’re just really inconsistent. So as a group, we decided that for giraffe conservation to move forward, it’s really critical to have these updated and accurate range&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/new-maps-show-where-giraffes-live-mostly-outside-protected-areas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-223658</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Giraffe trade to be monitored, strictly regulated</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/giraffe-trade-to-be-monitored-strictly-regulated/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/giraffe-trade-to-be-monitored-strictly-regulated/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Aug 2019 23:37:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/09/01191143/south_africa_kruger_0143-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=221833</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Giraffes, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Trade in Africa&#8217;s iconic giraffes and their parts will now be regulated, countries voted last week at the ongoing meeting of the global wildlife trade body. In 2016, researchers sounded the alarm on the &#8220;silent extinction&#8221; of giraffes. Giraffe numbers had fallen by 40 percent, from around 157,000 individuals in 1985 to around 97,000 in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Trade in Africa&#8217;s iconic giraffes and their parts will now be regulated, countries voted last week at the ongoing meeting of the global wildlife trade body. In 2016, researchers sounded the alarm on the &#8220;silent extinction&#8221; of giraffes. Giraffe numbers had fallen by 40 percent, from around 157,000 individuals in 1985 to around 97,000 in 2015, the researchers said, and the world&#8217;s tallest mammal went from a listing of &#8220;least concern&#8221; on the IUCN Red List to &#8220;vulnerable to extinction.&#8221; The giraffe, currently recognized as a single species, Giraffa camelopardalis, was sliding toward extinction largely unnoticed. Habitat loss, illegal hunting and civil unrest are some of the primary threats to giraffes. But the animals are also hunted legally and traded internationally. However, until recently, there weren&#8217;t any international regulations governing their trade. On Aug. 22, the 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) agreed to list the giraffe under Appendix II of CITES. The proposal was tabled by the Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Senegal. The Appendix II listing would, in theory, tighten the monitoring and regulation of the trade in giraffes and their body parts,like including bones, hides and meat. “Although this new CITES listing won’t ban the trade in giraffe parts, it will for the first time provide critical measures to track and trace this trade, which in turn should produce the data needed to further protect this imperiled species in the future,&#8221; Adam Peyman, Humane&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/giraffe-trade-to-be-monitored-strictly-regulated/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/giraffe-trade-to-be-monitored-strictly-regulated/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-221833</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Proximity to towns stretches giraffe home ranges</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/towns-and-cities-force-giraffes-to-ply-larger-home-ranges/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/towns-and-cities-force-giraffes-to-ply-larger-home-ranges/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Mar 2019 13:58:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/03/17012518/DSC_88601-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=216244</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Culture, Ecology, Ecosystem Services, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Fragmentation, Giraffes, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Human Migration, Human Rights, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hunting, In-situ Conservation, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Mammals, Natural Capital, Parks, Poaching, Poverty, Poverty Alleviation, Primary Forests, Protected Areas, Research, Resource Conflict, Roads, Saving Species From Extinction, Social Justice, Solutions, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Forest Management, Traditional People, Tropical Forests, Water, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Giraffes have to search a wider area for food and water when people live nearby, according to a recent study. “Giraffes are huge browsing animals that live in African savanna ecosystems where they must find everything they need to survive and reproduce in landscapes increasingly impacted by human activities,” Derek Lee, a biologist at Pennsylvania [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Giraffes have to search a wider area for food and water when people live nearby, according to a recent study. “Giraffes are huge browsing animals that live in African savanna ecosystems where they must find everything they need to survive and reproduce in landscapes increasingly impacted by human activities,” Derek Lee, a biologist at Pennsylvania State University and the Wild Nature Institute and one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. “People are converting natural savannas to towns and farms, and cutting trees for fuelwood and charcoal industries, all of which potentially degrade giraffe habitat.” Giraffe numbers have declined by around 40 percent since the 1980s to fewer than 100,000. Image by John C. Cannon/Mongabay. Earlier research has shown that the size of the area that giraffes need to provide them with food and water, find mates and raise their young varies widely across the African continent. Ecologists figure that a complex web of factors, ranging from water availability to the presence of people, probably determines how big those home ranges are. But until now, they hadn’t zeroed in on the roles that each factor plays. Lee and his colleagues began by taking photographs of giraffes throughout the Tarangire-Manyara region of northern Tanzania. The study area is home to parts of two national parks and a private reserve, as well as roads, farms and human settlements. Between 2011 and 2016, the team tracked the movements of 132 Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi), feeding the data into a statistical model&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/towns-and-cities-force-giraffes-to-ply-larger-home-ranges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/towns-and-cities-force-giraffes-to-ply-larger-home-ranges/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-216244</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>No more elephants? Poaching crisis takes its toll in the Central African Republic</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/no-more-elephants-poaching-crisis-takes-its-toll-in-the-central-african-republic/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/no-more-elephants-poaching-crisis-takes-its-toll-in-the-central-african-republic/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jan 2018 06:42:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Maria Angeles Salazar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/01/24063029/featureCAR-768x503.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=203165</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Central African Republic]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Giraffes, Mammals, Poaching, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Years of civil war and poaching have virtually wiped out elephants from one of their historical strongholds in Central Africa, an aerial survey conducted last year by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) indicates. The survey, in northern Central African Republic, found surviving but small populations of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), giant eland (Taurotragus derbianus), buffalo (Syncerus [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Years of civil war and poaching have virtually wiped out elephants from one of their historical strongholds in Central Africa, an aerial survey conducted last year by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) indicates. The survey, in northern Central African Republic, found surviving but small populations of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), giant eland (Taurotragus derbianus), buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) — but not a single bush elephant (Loxodonta africana). “We weren’t anticipating to find many elephants, but we were hoping to find some,” said Paul Elkan, the WCS’s Sudano-Sahel regional director, who led the investigation. “It doesn’t mean that there are none; it means that, if there are, there are very small numbers.” The destruction of the CAR’s once abundant wildlife is due to poaching and illegal trafficking rooted both inside the country and in neighboring nations. This is part of a historical phenomenon that has been exacerbated by the country’s civil war, ongoing since 2013. But experts in wildlife protection say there is still hope for the nation’s wildlife. If the CAR can preserve its rich habitats by scaling up and strengthening conservation efforts that are currently undermined by conflict, it could not only potentially bring back wildlife, but also greater security for its citizens. Two teams from the WCS, ECOFAUNE+ (a European Union-supported conservation project) and staff from the CAR’s Ministry of Environment performed the survey in March and April 2017. Their planes covered 63,657 square kilometers (24,578 square miles) across several national parks and their outskirts:&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/no-more-elephants-poaching-crisis-takes-its-toll-in-the-central-african-republic/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-203165</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lions deal blow to giraffe numbers by targeting young, study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/lions-deal-blow-to-giraffe-numbers-by-targeting-young-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/lions-deal-blow-to-giraffe-numbers-by-targeting-young-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jan 2018 03:52:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/01/10101230/20160304-082750-768x451.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=202796</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Conservation, Dry Forests, Ecology, Endangered Species, Environment, Giraffes, Lions, Mammals, Parks, Protected Areas, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Lions put a damper on the number of young giraffes that survive to maturity, according to a new study, raising concerns about a species that has recently slipped into decline. “It is thought that lions preferentially target giraffe calves in the wild, and there is anecdotal evidence of this,” biologist Zoe Muller said in a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Lions put a damper on the number of young giraffes that survive to maturity, according to a new study, raising concerns about a species that has recently slipped into decline. “It is thought that lions preferentially target giraffe calves in the wild, and there is anecdotal evidence of this,” biologist Zoe Muller said in a statement. For one thing, researchers have recorded successful hunts for baby giraffes, and females sometimes bear the telltale scratches that are the souvenirs of a run-in with lions going after their calves, Muller added. “However, no one has ever investigated if this preference for hunting calves has an impact on the population as a whole,” she said. Giraffe calves were more numerous in a protected area without lions than in one with the predators. Photo by Zoe Muller/University of Bristol. Muller is a doctoral student at the University of Bristol in the U.K. and the author of the paper, which appeared in the online journal PLoS ONE on Jan. 3. Her observations of giraffes in western Kenya between 2010 and 2012 revealed that the presence of lions can slash the number of calves under a year old by more than 80 percent. That discovery calls into question whether dwindling giraffe populations can abide such pressure. “The continual loss of juveniles within a population due to lion predation may lead to an unrecoverable situation where the population crashes, since population growth and sustainability rely on enough calves surviving until they are sexually mature,” Muller said. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/lions-deal-blow-to-giraffe-numbers-by-targeting-young-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/lions-deal-blow-to-giraffe-numbers-by-targeting-young-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-202796</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;Snow white&#8217; giraffes caught on video for the first time</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/snow-white-giraffes-caught-on-video-for-the-first-time/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/snow-white-giraffes-caught-on-video-for-the-first-time/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2017 00:01:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/09/16161209/snow-white-giraffes-wide_1210x452-768x456.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=199155</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Giraffes, Mammals, Strange, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Two rare white giraffes have been captured on video in the wild for the first time, reports a wildlife conservancy in Kenya. The giraffes, which are leucistic, meaning they have a genetic condition that inhibits pigmentation in skin cells rather than albino, or lacking melanin throughout their bodies, were first reported back in June by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Two rare white giraffes have been captured on video in the wild for the first time, reports a wildlife conservancy in Kenya. The giraffes, which are leucistic, meaning they have a genetic condition that inhibits pigmentation in skin cells rather than albino, or lacking melanin throughout their bodies, were first reported back in June by villagers near the Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy in Garissa county in northeastern Kenya, according to a blog post from the conservancy. Upon hearing of the report, members of the conservancy &#8212; including Abdullahi H. Ali, the founder of the Hirola Conservation Program &#8212; &#8220;hurriedly headed to the scene&#8221; where they encountered the animals along with a conventionally colored reticulated giraffe. “They were so close and extremely calm and seemed not disturbed by our presence. The mother kept pacing back and forth a few yards in front of us while signaling the baby giraffe to hide behind the bushes – a characteristic of most wildlife mothers in the wild to prevent the predation of their young,&#8221; wrote the conservancy in a blog post. While rare, the sighting is not without precedent. In 2016 there was a report of a wild white giraffe in Tanzania&#8217;s Tarangire National Park. A second sighting was reported in March 2016 in Ishaqbini, according to the conservancy. Other animals, ranging from mammals to birds to reptiles, have also been spotted in the wild with the condition. Nonetheless, the sighting has sparked excitement across the internet and widespread press coverage. Ali says he hopes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/snow-white-giraffes-caught-on-video-for-the-first-time/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-199155</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>DRC&#8217;s Garamba National Park: The last giraffes of the Congo</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/drcs-garamba-national-park-the-last-giraffes-of-the-congo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/drcs-garamba-national-park-the-last-giraffes-of-the-congo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 May 2017 04:00:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Thomas Nicolon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Genevieve Belmaker]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/04/07054354/2017-03-29-Garamba-Nicolon-29_edit-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=195147</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Endangered Environmentalists]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Endangered Environmentalists, Forests, Giraffes, Poaching, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[GARAMBA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of Congo – Scientist Mathias D’haen said he couldn’t believe his eyes. We had been walking in the bush for a couple of days in a fruitless search for giraffes when all of a sudden one of the park rangers spotted some of the graceful ruminants. “You’re incredibly lucky,” he [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[GARAMBA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of Congo – Scientist Mathias D’haen said he couldn’t believe his eyes. We had been walking in the bush for a couple of days in a fruitless search for giraffes when all of a sudden one of the park rangers spotted some of the graceful ruminants. “You’re incredibly lucky,” he said. “I never thought we would see giraffes here.” The animals, which can weigh between 1,600 to 3,000 pounds, were a couple hundred feet away from us, well-camouflaged amidst the trees. It seemed to take at least 20 seconds to make out their shapes. It didn’t matter whether there were two or 10 of them: we had seen giraffes from the ground, which rarely happens. Most of the time, when in the bush, D’haen, a PhD student who studies giraffes in Garamba National Park, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has to make do with collecting droppings and taking habitat pictures. Not surprising, as there are only 46 giraffes left in Garamba. The park covers a nearly 2,000 square-mile area. The giraffes here are needles in a haystack, basically. The only guaranteed way to see them is to locate the one equipped with a GPS collar, and fly over it with a small aircraft. The logistics are complicated, but the challenge and possible reward is thrilling. The Kordofan giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum) in Garamba are a rare sub-species of giraffe, and they’re the last remaining giraffes in DRC. The tallest land mammal in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/drcs-garamba-national-park-the-last-giraffes-of-the-congo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-195147</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Giraffes are endangered, groups argue, file petition with U.S.</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/04/giraffes-are-endangered-groups-argue-and-file-petition-with-u-s/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/04/giraffes-are-endangered-groups-argue-and-file-petition-with-u-s/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Apr 2017 18:31:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fred Bercovitch]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/04/19182116/animals_05187-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=194915</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Environmental Policy, Giraffes, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Five conservation organizations filed a petition today with the United States Government to list the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) as an endangered species.  In December 2016, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature classified giraffes as “Vulnerable” to extinction.  The classification was an umbrella covering all nine subspecies recognized by scientists and based upon the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Five conservation organizations filed a petition today with the United States Government to list the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) as an endangered species.  In December 2016, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature classified giraffes as “Vulnerable” to extinction.  The classification was an umbrella covering all nine subspecies recognized by scientists and based upon the scientific data compiled by the Species Survival Commission Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group, as reported earlier. Giraffe in Kruger National Park. Image by Rhett A. Butler, Mongabay The Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society International, Humane Society of the United States, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and Natural Resources Defense Council formed a consortium asking the Department of the Interior and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to classify giraffes as a species threatened with extinction based on the criteria established by the Endangered Species Act.  Giraffe numbers have plummeted since about 1985 from over 150,000 to about 97,000.  Habitat fragmentation and destruction are the major causes of the decline. However, as the petition notes, a substantial fraction of the decrease in number of giraffes in Africa is due to importation to the United States of giraffe parts, including trophies, skins, and bone carvings.  According to the petition, a minimum of 20,000 bone carvings were brought into the United States for commercial purposes between 2006 and 2015.  Bones tend to find their way into knife handles, while the blotchy fur is made into items like pillows and pistol cases. According to federal laws, the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/04/giraffes-are-endangered-groups-argue-and-file-petition-with-u-s/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-194915</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Giraffes facing ‘silent extinction’: IUCN</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/giraffes-facing-silent-extinction-iucn/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/giraffes-facing-silent-extinction-iucn/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Dec 2016 07:35:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/09/01191143/south_africa_kruger_0143-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=191645</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Giraffes, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The iconic giraffe is rapidly heading towards extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In the past 30 years, giraffe numbers have plummeted by 40 percent from around 157,000 individuals in 1985 to 97,500 in 2015, IUCN announced in a statement last week. This has brought the charismatic species a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The iconic giraffe is rapidly heading towards extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In the past 30 years, giraffe numbers have plummeted by 40 percent from around 157,000 individuals in 1985 to 97,500 in 2015, IUCN announced in a statement last week. This has brought the charismatic species a few steps closer to extinction. Given their dramatic decline, the giraffe’s IUCN Red List status has jumped two places from ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Vulnerable to extinction’. “Whilst giraffes are commonly seen on safari, in the media and in zoos, people – including conservationists – are unaware that these majestic animals are undergoing a silent extinction,” Julian Fennessy, co-chair of the IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group, said in the statement. “With a decline of almost 40% in the last three decades alone, the world&#8217;s tallest animal is under severe pressure in some of its core ranges across East, Central and West Africa.” Giraffe numbers have declined by 40% in the last 30 years. Photo by Udayan Dasgupta. Some recent studies have suggested that there may be up to four distinct species of giraffes, which do not mate in the wild. But the IUCN currently recognizes a single species of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), split into nine recognized subspecies based on their coat markings and geographical distribution. Some giraffe subspecies are at greater risk of extinction than others, researchers say. The West African giraffe (Giraffa c. peralta), for example, is only found in an isolated population in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/giraffes-facing-silent-extinction-iucn/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-191645</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>There are four species of giraffes, not one: new study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/09/there-are-four-species-of-giraffes-not-one-new-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/09/there-are-four-species-of-giraffes-not-one-new-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Sep 2016 11:44:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/09/01191143/south_africa_kruger_0143-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=189374</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Genetics, Giraffes, Mammals, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Giraffes are not one species, but four different ones, a new study has found. And this revelation could change the way these long-necked mammals are protected, researchers write in a new study published in Current Biology. Traditionally, scientists have classified all giraffes as a single species Giraffa camelopardalis, split into some 11 subspecies based on their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Giraffes are not one species, but four different ones, a new study has found. And this revelation could change the way these long-necked mammals are protected, researchers write in a new study published in Current Biology. Traditionally, scientists have classified all giraffes as a single species Giraffa camelopardalis, split into some 11 subspecies based on their coat markings and geographical distribution. But now, by analyzing genetic data obtained from skin biopsies of 190 giraffes across Africa, researchers have found that all the recognized subspecies belong to four distinct groups, which do not mate in the wild. &#8220;We were extremely surprised, because the morphological and coat pattern differences between giraffe are limited,” Axel Janke, a geneticist at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Goethe University in Germany, said in a statement. A new study has found that there may be four distinct species of giraffes that do not interbreed in the wild. Photo by Udayan Dasgupta. Based on their results, Janke and his colleagues suggest grouping the giraffes into four species: the southern giraffe (G. giraffa), which includes two subspecies &#8212; the Angolan giraffe and South African giraffe found in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe; the Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi), comprising of the Thornicroft’s giraffe subspecies found mainly in Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia; the reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata) found in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia; as well as the northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis), found in eastern and central parts of Africa. “The conservation implications are obvious,” the authors write&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/09/there-are-four-species-of-giraffes-not-one-new-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-189374</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Exploitation crisis’: Civil war fueling ‘sharp rise’ in poaching and trafficking of South Sudan’s wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/03/exploitation-crisis-civil-war-fueling-sharp-rise-in-poaching-and-trafficking-of-south-sudans-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/03/exploitation-crisis-civil-war-fueling-sharp-rise-in-poaching-and-trafficking-of-south-sudans-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Mar 2016 09:05:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/03/01220723/south_africa_kruger_0630-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and South Sudan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bushmeat, Conflict, Conservation, Elephants, Environment, Giraffes, Gold Mining, Ivory, Mammals, Natural Resources, Poaching, Protected Areas, Social Conflict, War, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The ongoing civil war in South Sudan is taking a severe toll on the country’s wildlife and other natural resources, conservationists warn. There has been a “sharp” rise in illegal activities in South Sudan, experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) reported recently, resulting in a natural resource “exploitation crisis” in the country. Before the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The ongoing civil war in South Sudan is taking a severe toll on the country’s wildlife and other natural resources, conservationists warn. There has been a “sharp” rise in illegal activities in South Sudan, experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) reported recently, resulting in a natural resource “exploitation crisis” in the country. Before the war broke out in December 2013, South Sudan’s forests and savannah were home to numerous rare and threatened wildlife. Biologists have recorded about 2,500 elephants, several hundred giraffe, the endemic Nile Lechwe and white-eared kob, tiang, Mongalla antelope, wild dog, chimpanzee, and bongo populations in the country. But ever since the outbreak of the war, there has been an “alarming” expansion of illegal activities across the country, WCS said. Both local and international actors, especially the armed forces, are plundering South Sudan’s natural resources. These individuals and groups have become involved in ivory poaching and trafficking, commercial bushmeat poaching and trafficking, illegal logging, gold mining, and charcoal production, WCS added. “Due to the war disruption, there is a governance vacuum and also a lack of field monitoring and law enforcement in some areas,” WCS’s Paul Elkan told Mongabay. “Therefore, various actors, including armed forces try to make maximum profit in short term period plundering natural resources.” Recently poached elephant in South Sudan 2015. Photo by P Elkan WCS. For instance, on February 13, the Badingilo Park Wildlife Service arrested 19 soldiers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and 11 civilians in connection with commercial&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/03/exploitation-crisis-civil-war-fueling-sharp-rise-in-poaching-and-trafficking-of-south-sudans-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/03/exploitation-crisis-civil-war-fueling-sharp-rise-in-poaching-and-trafficking-of-south-sudans-wildlife/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-184408</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A new plan to pull the “forest giraffe” back from the brink of extinction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/02/a-new-plan-to-pull-the-forest-giraffe-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/02/a-new-plan-to-pull-the-forest-giraffe-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Feb 2016 12:06:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/02/01230851/DRC-Virunga-NP-Lesse-camtrap-okapi-1-Dec-2009_ZSL-440x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Endangered Environmentalists]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Giraffes, Illegal Mining, Mammals, Mining, Protected Areas, Rainforests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The rare “forest giraffe,” a native of the lowland rainforests in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, faces numerous threats, including habitat loss, armed conflict, poaching, and, increasingly, the mining and oil industries. Okapi, sometimes referred to as “forest giraffes” because they are the only other member of the Giraffidae family besides giraffes, are mostly [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The rare “forest giraffe,” a native of the lowland rainforests in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, faces numerous threats, including habitat loss, armed conflict, poaching, and, increasingly, the mining and oil industries. Okapi, sometimes referred to as “forest giraffes” because they are the only other member of the Giraffidae family besides giraffes, are mostly solitary animals. They’re about the size of a small horse and have distinctive black and white stripes, similar to a zebra’s, on their legs. Okapi are currently listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. Now the IUCN, together with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), has announced a new global effort to prevent the okapi (Okapia johnstoni) from going extinct in the wild. The DRC has established protected areas to preserve critical populations of okapi, but armed militias and illegal extractive operations in these key conservation areas have proven difficult to rein in, despite increased patrols and law enforcement. Perhaps no episode illustrates that reality more clearly than the attack at the DRC’s Okapi Wildlife Reserve headquarters in 2012, when members of a militia group killed seven people and 14 “ambassador” okapi that lived at the facility. The lead author of a new strategy to save the okapi, ZSL’s Dr. Noëlle Kümpel, said that while the okapi is an iconic species for the DRC, we still don’t know much about them, largely due to security&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/02/a-new-plan-to-pull-the-forest-giraffe-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-180436</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Toxic beetles and poisonous plants: Study reveals how southern Africa’s ‘bushmen’ make deadly poison arrows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/02/toxic-beetles-and-poisonous-plants-study-reveals-how-southern-africas-bushmen-make-deadly-poison-arrows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/02/toxic-beetles-and-poisonous-plants-study-reveals-how-southern-africas-bushmen-make-deadly-poison-arrows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Feb 2016 05:05:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/02/02174831/Screen-Shot-2016-02-16-at-3.06.05-pm-520x307.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Anthropology, Biodiversity, Bushmeat, Conservation, Culture, Environment, Giraffes, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Insects, Invertebrates, Mammals, Plants, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In southern Africa, certain hunter-gatherer communities called the San peoples, have traditionally been known to use deadly poison-tipped arrows to hunt big game like gazelles and giraffe. Now, in a study published in ZooKeys, researchers have documented details about little-known ingredients that makes some of these poison arrows lethal &#8212; ground-up beetle larvae paste and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In southern Africa, certain hunter-gatherer communities called the San peoples, have traditionally been known to use deadly poison-tipped arrows to hunt big game like gazelles and giraffe. Now, in a study published in ZooKeys, researchers have documented details about little-known ingredients that makes some of these poison arrows lethal &#8212; ground-up beetle larvae paste and some poisonous plants. “We wanted to find out how and why people used poison,” co-author Robert Hitchcock, an anthropologist at University of New Mexico who has worked extensively with the San peoples, told Mongabay. “It was discussed by travelers who visited the Kalahari and adjacent regions in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and there was a great fear on the part of people living in southern Africa of those people who used poison. So we wanted to find out more about why poison was used, under what conditions, and whether indeed it was an important part of the cultural traditions of various groups.” Chaboo interviewing San hunters in Namibia. Photo by H. Vollbrecht. To answer these questions, beetle expert Caroline Chaboo of the University of Kansas, Hitchcock, and their colleagues, combed through literature &#8212; some dating back to the 1700s – and reviewed the various kinds of poison used by the San peoples. These indigenous groups use the so-called &#8220;click-languages&#8221;, and are also referred to as “bushmen”. Their literature surveys revealed that many groups of San peoples used plant poisons to increase the lethality of their arrows. They also found that at least eight San groups,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/02/toxic-beetles-and-poisonous-plants-study-reveals-how-southern-africas-bushmen-make-deadly-poison-arrows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/02/toxic-beetles-and-poisonous-plants-study-reveals-how-southern-africas-bushmen-make-deadly-poison-arrows/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-179264</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Disappearing giraffes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/09/disappearing-giraffes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/09/disappearing-giraffes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Sep 2015 21:06:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fred Bercovitch]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/09/03163500/giraffe-herd-at-sunset-Francois-photo_1200-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Commentary, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Giraffes, Mammals, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sadly, it is not a magician’s illusion, but a genuine plummeting in giraffe numbers across Africa. After a two-year effort spearheaded by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature [IUCN] Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group met in advance of the 3rd International Giraffe Indaba to assess the conservation [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sadly, it is not a magician’s illusion, but a genuine plummeting in giraffe numbers across Africa. After a two-year effort spearheaded by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature [IUCN] Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group met in advance of the 3rd International Giraffe Indaba to assess the conservation status of giraffes and okapis. Both meetings were held at the Southern African Wildlife College, just outside Kruger National Park. Forty-five delegates attended the meetings, representing about a dozen countries. The IUCN maintains a Red List that categorizes species according to a set of criteria that indicate the threat of extinction. Threatened species are labeled according their risk of extinction as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered. The okapi lives only in the dense, tropical forests of Central Africa and has recently been classified as “Endangered” by the IUCN. The closest living relative of the okapi is the giraffe, a species that lives outside the Congo Basin, in a variety of habitats ranging from desert to woodland/savanna. Although resident across Africa, giraffes live in mostly disconnected pockets that are home to specific subspecies. Nine subspecies of giraffes are currently recognized. While two subspecies of giraffes are considered to be “Endangered”, the species Giraffa camelopardalis is classified as “Least Concern” by the IUCN. However, the current situation, as discussed at the recent meeting, questions this classification, because giraffes are threatened with extinction. Giraffes at sunset. Photo by Francois Deacon. The number of giraffes has almost been cut&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/09/disappearing-giraffes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-138514</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On the fence about wildlife fencing: new paper outlines research needed to resolve debate</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/on-the-fence-about-wildlife-fencing-new-paper-outlines-research-needed-to-resolve-debate/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/on-the-fence-about-wildlife-fencing-new-paper-outlines-research-needed-to-resolve-debate/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jun 2015 23:56:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Neelam Pereira]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/06/on-the-fence-about-wildlife-fencing-new-paper-outlines-research-needed-to-resolve-debate</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cheetahs, Climate Change, Conservation, Elephants, Environment, Fences, Giraffes, Green, Lions, Migration, Mongabay.org, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fencing is used to protect wildlife against poaching and human encroachment, and also to protect people and livestock from wildlife. As a conservation strategy, it has proponents as well as detractors. A recent paper by a team of 45 international researchers in the Journal of Applied Ecology questions the wisdom of erecting wildlife fencing in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fencing is used to protect wildlife against poaching and human encroachment, and also to protect people and livestock from wildlife. As a conservation strategy, it has proponents as well as detractors. A recent paper by a team of 45 international researchers in the Journal of Applied Ecology questions the wisdom of erecting wildlife fencing in dryland ecosystems. It also seeks to ease decision-making on fencing initiatives by setting a research agenda to answer open questions that will help resolve the debate. In Africa, wildlife fencing expanded rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s as a solution to human-wildlife conflicts. After a lull, the continent is once again witnessing a resurgence of fence building. Rwanda recently put up a 75-mile-long fence around Akagera National Park at a cost of $2.5 million. Uganda plans to fence all its parks, and Malawi may, too. A fence in the Gourma region in Mali. Its purpose is unknown. Photo by Jake Wall. But fences have come under fire for restricting animal movement, particularly in drylands, where enormous animal migrations occur as an adaptation to extreme and variable conditions and, the paper&#8217;s authors write, &#8220;mobility is essential for both wildlife and people.&#8221; Climate change is expected to exacerbate the situation. &#8220;Large-scale fencing can disrupt migration pathways and reduce access to key areas within drylands, such as seasonal foraging areas,&#8221; said lead author Sarah Durant, an ecologist at the Zoological Society of London, in a press release announcing the paper. &#8220;This can lead to severe reductions in migratory&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/on-the-fence-about-wildlife-fencing-new-paper-outlines-research-needed-to-resolve-debate/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-62834</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Happy World Giraffe Day (Photos)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/happy-world-giraffe-day-photos/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/happy-world-giraffe-day-photos/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jun 2015 16:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/06/happy-world-giraffe-day-photos</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Giraffes, Green, Photos, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Giraffe. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Families across the United States are today celebrating Father&#8217;s Day. But this Sunday is extra special because it is also World Giraffe Day. World Giraffe Day was started in 2014 by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation to raise awareness about the animal with the longest neck. June 21st was selected [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Giraffe. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Families across the United States are today celebrating Father&#8217;s Day. But this Sunday is extra special because it is also World Giraffe Day. World Giraffe Day was started in 2014 by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation to raise awareness about the animal with the longest neck. June 21st was selected because it is the longest day (Northern Hemisphere) and longest night (Southern Hemisphere) of the year. While the giraffe is instantly recognizable to most people, few know that wild giraffes are in dire straights: since 1999 Africa&#8217;s giraffe population has plummeted from 140,000 to about 80,000. That&#8217;s less than a sixth of the wild elephant population. World Giraffe Day provides an opportunity to lean more about giraffes and what you can do to help. In celebration of World Giraffe Day, below are a few pictures of the world&#8217;s tallest animal. Giraffe feeding in Kenya. Photo by Rob Roy Giraffe. Photo by Rhett A. Butler South African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) in South Africa&#8217;s Kruger National Park. Photo by Rhett A. Butler South African giraffe. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Kilimanjaro Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi). Photo by Rhett A. Butler Giraffes on the horizon in Kenya&#8217;s Maasai Mara. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Maasai giraffe feeding in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Reticulated Giraffe from Kenya. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Reticulated Giraffe from Kenya. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) from Kenya. Photo by Rhett A. ButlerThis article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/happy-world-giraffe-day-photos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-62847</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The neglected giraffe: world&#8217;s tallest animal in need of conservation assistance</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/06/the-neglected-giraffe-worlds-tallest-animal-in-need-of-conservation-assistance/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/06/the-neglected-giraffe-worlds-tallest-animal-in-need-of-conservation-assistance/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jun 2013 17:52:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2013/06/the-neglected-giraffe-worlds-tallest-animal-in-need-of-conservation-assistance/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Giraffes, Green, Habitat Loss, In-situ Conservation, Interviews, Mammals, Overpopulation, Population, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Taxonomy, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The 2013 Zoos and Aquariums: Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference runs from July 8th&#8212;July 12th in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Blank Park Zoo. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&#38;As with presenters. For more interviews, please see our ZACC feed.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The 2013 Zoos and Aquariums: Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference runs from July 8th&#8212;July 12th in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Blank Park Zoo. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&amp;As with presenters. For more interviews, please see our ZACC feed.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2013/06/the-neglected-giraffe-worlds-tallest-animal-in-need-of-conservation-assistance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/06/the-neglected-giraffe-worlds-tallest-animal-in-need-of-conservation-assistance/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-28787</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cute animal picture of the day: baby giraffe</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/11/cute-animal-picture-of-the-day-baby-giraffe/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/11/cute-animal-picture-of-the-day-baby-giraffe/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Nov 2012 21:51:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2012/11/cute-animal-picture-of-the-day-baby-giraffe/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Environment, Giraffes, Green, Mammals, Photos, and Picture Of The Day]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A-month-old reticualted male giraffe born at Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Whipsnade Zoo&#8217;s. Photo courtesy of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. Reticulated giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata), one of nine subspecies, are found in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The world&#8217;s tallest land animal, giraffes can stand as high as 5–6 meters (16–20 feet). Giraffes are listed as Least [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[A-month-old reticualted male giraffe born at Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Whipsnade Zoo&#8217;s. Photo courtesy of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. Reticulated giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata), one of nine subspecies, are found in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The world&#8217;s tallest land animal, giraffes can stand as high as 5–6 meters (16–20 feet). Giraffes are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, however a number of the subspecies are threatened with extinction. A 2007 genetic study found that some of the subspecies may in fact be full species in their own right, which would raise conservation urgency for those imperiled. The baby giraffe already stands over six feet. Photo courtesy of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2012/11/cute-animal-picture-of-the-day-baby-giraffe/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-30064</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cute animal picture of the day: endangered baby giraffe</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/03/cute-animal-picture-of-the-day-endangered-baby-giraffe/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/03/cute-animal-picture-of-the-day-endangered-baby-giraffe/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Mar 2012 19:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2012/03/cute-animal-picture-of-the-day-endangered-baby-giraffe/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Kenya, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Ex-situ Conservation, Giraffes, Green, Mammals, Photos, Picture Of The Day, Ungulates, Wildlife, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The baby giraffe was born at 6 feet tall and weighing in at around 100 pounds. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. A baby Rothschild&#8217;s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) was recently born at the Wildlife Conservation Society&#8217;s (WCS) Bronx Zoo. The subspecies was classified as Endangered in 2010 with a wild population of less than 700 [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[The baby giraffe was born at 6 feet tall and weighing in at around 100 pounds. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. A baby Rothschild&#8217;s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) was recently born at the Wildlife Conservation Society&#8217;s (WCS) Bronx Zoo. The subspecies was classified as Endangered in 2010 with a wild population of less than 700 individuals in Kenya and Uganda. &#8220;[We] hope this will highlight to the world the critical state its tallest creature is in,&#8221; giraffe-expert and conservationist, Julian Fennessey said in a statement at the time. &#8220;As the second giraffe sub-species (of 9 known) to now be listed as endangered, we all have our work cut out to form sound conservation strategies to improve the situation in the short, medium and long term. The whole thrust of our work here is to put strategies in place BEFORE it is too late—extinction is simply not an option.&#8221; More alarming, recent research has shown that Rothschild&#8217;s giraffe may in fact be a distinct species, making its conservation even more paramount. For more information on giraffe conservation: All about giraffes: an interview with a giraffe expert Giraffe calf with mom. Background is a painting. Photo by: Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. Giraffe calf with mom. Photo by: Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS.This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2012/03/cute-animal-picture-of-the-day-endangered-baby-giraffe/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-31113</doi>				</item>
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