Poaching Produces Problems

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 Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congolese usually kill the giraffes for one body part: their tails, considered a status symbol in some communities. Meanwhile men from neighboring South Sudan target the giraffes for their meat to feed impoverished villagers.

Reports from around Africa provide new evidence that giraffe poaching in several countries is on the rise, a trend that could further threaten a species that has lost more than 40 percent of its population over the past 15 years. Today fewer than 80,000 giraffes remain in Africa, and three of the nine giraffe subspecies have populations that have fallen below 1,000 animals.

Tanzania, which displays the giraffe as its national symbol, is a poaching hot spot. About 10 years ago herbal medicine practitioners in Tanzania started touting giraffe bone marrow and brains as a way to protect people from, or even cure, HIV/AIDS. The belief continues to drive poaching in the country, according to a recent report from Tanzania’s Daily News. The practice has also driven up the prices for giraffe meat, making poaching more lucrative. A 2010 report from Rothschild’s Giraffe Project found that “freshly severed heads and giraffe bones” can bring in up to $140 each.

Poachers “get a big bang for their buck because giraffes are an easy kill compared to other ungulates and you get a lot of meat,” said David O’Connor, an ecologist with the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research. Giraffes are usually killed with rifles or in steel-wire snares, which can be set either to target giraffes or to catch any animal that walks by. Kenya and Tanzania are the worst countries for this poaching.

“The giraffe, though, plays an important role in the ecosystem and is one of Africa’s iconic species,” said Julian Fennessy, executive director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. “To lose them simply because we weren’t paying attention would be tragic.”

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Resources
https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/giraffe
https://earthleagueinternational.org/2014/11/20/poachers-now-slaughtering-africas-giraffes/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/rare-white-giraffe-omo-could-be-target-for-poachers-a6836336.html