Giraffes aren鈥檛 dangerous 鈥� but they will soon be endangered

Dr Matt Hayward, of the writing in . Read the . 

An American trophy hunter has kicked off another  after defending a recent giraffe kill in South Africa by claiming they were 鈥渧ery dangerous animals鈥�. In one sense she is right 鈥� giraffes are big and strong and you certainly wouldn鈥檛 want one kicking you. But attacks on humans are very rare.

A more relevant question is whether hunting is a key threat to giraffes. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List  does not list legal hunting as a threatening process at all. However illegal hunting for meat and trophies is listed as threatening as it reduces the effective size of their protected areas and, if allowed to proceed unchecked, can cause the collapse of wildlife populations. Giraffes are popular among bushmeat poachers because of their size, high meat yield and the ease with which they can be hunted.

The giraffe is currently listed as 鈥溾�� on the IUCN Red List, but this doesn鈥檛 present the full picture. Back in 1999 wildlife expert Rod East estimated there were 140,000 in Africa 鈥� today the Giraffe Conservation Foundation estimates there are . Such a rapid decline suggests they may soon qualify as being .

But why does a 40% drop in giraffe numbers not resonate worldwide? After all, everyone knows African elephants are threatened yet there are still  in the world. So why is the giraffe being ignored?

Time to put giraffes in the limelight. , 

Normally, it is the uncharismatic species that decline without much public sympathy, but that doesn鈥檛 apply here. Giraffes are one of the megastars of the African savannah. Tourists . Children who have never been to Africa know what a giraffe looks like. It is the world鈥檚 tallest animal despite having the same number of bones in its neck as we do. It is almost comical in appearance with its orange dappled pyjama onesie 鈥� although when you feel it, giraffe skin is thick and tough.

A drive through a well-managed protected area, such as Kruger National Park in South Africa, gives the impression that both elephants and giraffes are secure. You can sit at a waterhole and watch elephants cavorting in the water while a lone giraffe browses peacefully on the acacias nearby. In Zimbabwe鈥檚 Hwange National Park I once saw 32 giraffes without even turning my head. It could be that this familiarity has blinded society to the decline of the species, in addition to a lack of  that occurs with elephant ivory or rhino horn.

But the rapid decline of giraffes isn鈥檛 the only story 鈥� because in southern Africa, populations are increasing. A major reason for this increase has been the development of wildlife ranches and the reintroduction and protection of giraffes on those lands. There are significant numbers on wildlife ranches in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and a recent study estimated that 23,000 giraffes occupy such lands in .

Ironically, many of those ranches only developed because there was potential for deriving income from trophy hunting, including giraffes. Elsewhere, though, other sub-species are faring far worse. The reticulated giraffe from Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia has been reduced to  through illegal poaching and war. The West African giraffe in Niger had only , but robust environmental protection has resulted in an increase to  today.

The taxonomy of giraffes is currently being studied, and it may be that the dozen or so giraffe sub-species are elevated to distinct species, which would totally reform their conservation status assessments.

It seems clear that to protect giraffes, we need to prevent both habitat loss and illegal hunting. These targets can be achieved through adequate management of protected area estates and through the creation of incentives for conservation on lands outside of protected areas. Trophy hunting contributes to both in some countries by .

The controversy over the killing of  highlights how much is needed to make sure legal hunting industries are adequately managed. However, until an alternative to the income from trophy hunting is found, the answer lies not in banning the practice or on clamping down on trophy imports, but in helping African countries manage the industry better.

Publication date: 6 August 2015