The tallest land animal in the world is running short in number. And if we don’t stop with our hunting practices, the giraffes will soon become history. In the last couple of years, humans have successfully wiped out several species off the planet. Sadly it looks like we won’t change our ways until it is all gone. From the dodo to the Stellar’s sea cow, multiple birds and animals have disappeared forever due to climate change and hunting practices. After the blue macaw was declared extinct from the wild earlier this year, the tallest animal on land, Giraffes are now added to the list of endangered species on the verge of extinction.
Recently, two giraffe subspecies have been added to ‘critically endangered’ species list and the main reason of their dramatically decline is almost entirely due to human behavior in their wild habitats.
The Kordofan and Nubian giraffes have been added to the danger critically endangered list after their numbers went extremely low in the wild areas of Eritrea, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Malawi, Mauritania and Senegal where the animals are native.
A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature indicates there has been a considerable drop off over the past decades with numbers of these two subspecies decreasing by almost 40%.
Significant decrease in numbers were registered among all nine giraffes subspecies, because of of poaching, agriculture, mining and construction in their native habitats.
According to Dr. Julian Fennessy, the co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Special Survival Commission has said that while the creature has been protected to a certain extent in southern Africa, all subspecies are under extreme threat in East, Central, and West Africa.
“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,” Mr. Fennessy said.
Mainly because of the limited awareness of how vulnerable these beautiful creatures are to human threats, people are unaware of the danger world’s giraffe population is facing. In the last 30 years, the numbers of giraffes have dropped from 157,000 individuals in 1985 to 97,500 at last count.
In the video bellow, we present you the most endangered animal species, right now!
