Giraffe expert raises fears the animal faces extinction if conservation efforts don’t happen soon
Dr Julian Fennessy wants action taken urgently as the giraffe population has experienced a rapid overall decline of 40 per cent in the last three decades, and they are already extinct in seven countries
Everybody loves giraffes, with their long lashes and gangly features, but they have, until recently, been largely overlooked when it comes to conservation research. Thanks to the efforts of one man who has dedicated himself to their study for the last two decades, however, things are changing.
Dr Julian Fennessy, co-founder and executive director of Namibia-based Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) and co-chair of the IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group, has pioneered research and conservation initiatives for the world’s tallest animal, shining light on the threat of their extinction.
Most importantly, Fennessy initiated the genetic analysis that led to the recent discovery that there are in fact four species of giraffe in Africa, two of which – the Northern and the Reticulated – are among the most endangered large mammals in the world.
Until these findings – the result of a collaboration with Dr Axel Janke, a geneticist at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, and Goethe University in Germany – were released in 2016, only one species had been recognised by scientists worldwide.
This discovery highlights the urgent need for greater conservation of giraffes, which are now listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) endangered species list, and which have experienced a rapid overall population decline of 40 per cent in the last three decades. Giraffes are already extinct in seven countries, and there are now less than 100,000 individuals left in the world.
