Giraffe Conservation Awareness

  With their elongated necks and bright bodies, it’s hard to miss a white giraffe, especially when there are two. A white female and baby giraffe were first spotted on a reserve in Kenya in early August by rangers at the Hirola Conservation Program. Video they posted on YouTube recently skyrocketed in popularity as viewers marveled over the rarity of seeing the pale animal. While many have been quick to label the giraffe as albino, it likely suffers from a genetic condition called leucism, which inhibits skin cells from producing pigment but allows other organs, like eyes, to be dark colored. Albinism, a congenital condition, inhibits the body from producing pigment in all organs, and animals with this condition often have pink eyes. The condition, while rare, is not unheard of. It was last seen in a giraffe calf at Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park. Despite their inability to produce colorful pigment, giraffes and other animals with leucism don’t face ...

Should human space-travelers ever execute the long-awaited trek to Mars or another distant planet, they'll have baby giraffes to at least partially thank for their voyage. Extraterrestrial weightlessness—the sensation of floating through space within the confines of one's craft—is both a blessing and a curse for astronauts during long missions, as Canada's Chris Hadfield says in this Youtube video . Hadfield notes that “bodies are designed to work with gravity. The blood is pushed to your feet and your heart squeezes it to your head, and if you take away gravity, your heart's gonna keep squeezing the blood up to your head ... but gravity doesn't push your blood down to your feet anymore, so your head's gonna inflate!” Additionally, because the blood vessels in an astronaut's lower body aren't used to the same extent as they are on Earth, they gradually lose tone and start growing thinner. Upon re-entry to our planet's atmosphere,...

The number of giraffes in the wild is shrinking as their habitats shrink. In the late 19th and 20th centuries herds of 20 to 30 animals were recorded, now on average herd sizes contain fewer than six individuals. The IUCN lists four main threats to this species: habitat loss, civil unrest, illegal hunting, and ecological changes (climate change and habitat conversion). As human populations grow and increase agricultural activities, expand settlements, and construct roads, the giraffe is losing its beloved acacia trees, which are its main source of food. Giraffe tails are highly prized by many African cultures. The desire for good-luck bracelets, fly whisks, and thread for sewing or stringing beads have led people to kill the giraffe for its tail alone. Giraffes are easily killed and poaching (now more often for their meat and hide) continues today. Poaching isn’t pervasive throughout the continent, but it is particularly problematic in Tanzania, Kenya, and the Dem...