VN May 2017

Lead Article I Hoofartikel

I t ’ s time to stand tall for imperilled giraffes <<< 6

Giraffes aren’t dangerous but will soon be endangered A drive through a well-managed protected area, such as Kruger National Park in South Africa, gives the impression that both elephants and giraffes are secure. You can sit at a waterhole and watch elephants cavorting in the water while a lone giraffe browses peacefully on the acacias nearby. In Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park I once saw 32 giraffes without even turning my head. It could be that this familiarity has blinded society to the decline of the species, in addition to a lack of well-publicised trafficking busts that occurs with elephant ivory or rhino horn. But the rapid decline of giraffes isn’t the only story – because in southern Africa, populations are increasing. A major reason for this increase has been the development of wildlife ranches and the reintroduction and protection of giraffes on those lands. There are significant numbers on wildlife ranches in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and a recent study estimated that 23,000 giraffes occupy such lands in Namibia. Ironically, many

Giraffa reticulate (Quartl, Wikimedia)

of those ranches only developed because there was potential for deriving income from trophy hunting, including giraffes. Elsewhere, though, other sub-species are faring far worse. The reticulated giraffe from Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia has been reduced to just 5,000 individuals through illegal poaching and war. The taxonomy of giraffes is currently being studied, and it may be that the dozen or so giraffe sub-species are elevated to distinct species, which would totally reform their conservation status assessments. (Source: https://theconversation.com/giraffes-arent-dangerous-but-they-will-soon-be-endangered-45737 )

is an urgent challenge that hinges on improving land-use planning, governance and protection of nature reserves and imperilled wildlife. We can also use emerging technologies to help us. For example, it is now

on Earth by 2020. Species in tropical nations are doing especially poorly. What can we do? A critical first step is to help African nations develop their natural resources and economies in ways that don’t decimate nature. This

possible to monitor illegal deforestation, road-building and other illicit activities virtually in real time, thanks to remarkable advances in satellites, drones, computing and crowdsourcing. What’s more, affordable automatic

Giraffes are being killed for their tails Documentary filmmaker David Hamlin recalls the adrenalin rush when he was flying over the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Garamba National Park and spotted three giraffes standing in a small clearing. “Seeing these giraffes anywhere is really exciting,” says Hamlin, who was on assignment for National Geographic. That’s because Garamba is huge, sprawling over nearly 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) of mostly forested land, and it's a rare, lucky event to come across any of its 40 remaining giraffes. But Hamlin’s exhilaration at seeing and photographing the giraffes didn’t last long. Twelve hours later rangers reported hearing gunshots, and they later discovered three bullet-riddled giraffe carcasses rotting in the sun. Garamba is Africa’s second oldest national park and has been hit hard by poaching in recent years as civil unrest has escalated in the region. Its rhinos have been wiped out, and elephants have suffered huge losses. The same goes for its Kordofan giraffes, one of Africa’s nine giraffe subspecies. Fewer than 2,000 now roam central Africa, according to Julian Fennessy, co-director of

Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum

the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, a Namibia-based organisation. Garamba’s Kordofans represent the last population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “If the number slips in half, then we’re in a real dire situation,” Fennessy says. “Every single giraffe is valuable.” Congolese usually kill the giraffes for one body part: their tails, considered a status symbol in some communities. Men use the tail as a dowry to the bride’s father if they want to ask for the hand of a bride. Meanwhile men from neighboring South Sudan target the giraffes for their meat to feed impoverished villagers. But the massive bodies (giraffes can grow to 5.5 metre and weigh up to 1 400 kg) of the three giraffes were intact – only the ends of their tails were missing. (Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-giraffes-garamba-national-park-poaching-tails/ )

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