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Is the Reducing Giraffe Population pointing towards Extinction? Safari Uganda

By December 14, 2016Uganda

giraffe-feeding-uganda-safariThe Giraffe is the world’s tallest animal and among the most highly sought after animals for most of the visitors who travel to Uganda on Holiday. Unfortunately, these Giraffes are facing a big threat of extinction with a severe decline in number with approximately 40% decline recorded in the last thirty years.

Although the giraffes can easily be seen in different countries on the African continent including in the different National Parks and zoos during your safari in Uganda, many people sadly do not know that this species in silently reducing in number with a threat of being extinct. This truth was made public by Julian Fennessy the co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Giraffe.

One fact worth knowing is that actually there are about half a million African elephants remaining in the entire world yet these very tall giraffes are actually fewer than the African giraffes and at the moment the giraffes are already extinct in 7 different countries.

Based on IUCN, there were not more than 163,000 Giraffes back in 1985 and twenty years later, there were just 97,562 Giraffes. During the World Conservation Congress which was hosted in Cancun Mexico this year, the level of threat was increase by IUCN to thirty five species including the Giraffe.

The Giraffe is noted to be the only mammal species that saw alteration of its conservation status from being a species of Least Concern to being a Vulnerable species. It’s a very saddening moment to learn that these animals which previously were widely spread in eastern and southern Africa with a couple of them in west and central Africa are currently reducing to extinction. This terrible heart breaking trend is associated with unlawful hunting, civil unrest, human-wildlife conflict as well as loss and change of their habitat as a result of human activities including agriculture as well as mining.

According to information from the Zoological Society in London, some of the countries in which wild Giraffes have become extinct include:  Nigeria, Eritrea, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mauritania as well as Guinea. Fortunately, Uganda which is one of the best tourist destinations on the African continent still has a high number of giraffes which can be seen on your Safari in Uganda to any of the National Parks including Lake Mburo National Park, Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park.

For more information on Uganda Wildlife, Visit adventureugandasafari.com

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