World Giraffe Day!

So, it's that time of year again - World Giraffe Day! 

With the longest day of the year being the 21st June, it would have been silly not to dedicate this day to giraffes! To quote David Attenborough, "giraffes are facing a silent extinction", with 60,000 individuals lost in the last 20 years. In 1998, the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) estimated there to be 140,000 giraffes left in the wild, however, in 2013, this number had dropped dramatically to less than 80,000 individuals. This is incredibly concerning as giraffes actually have a major role in sustaining the ecosystem. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) have been shown research that suggests giraffe browsing is beneficial to acacia, promoting growth of new shoots, something not seen in acacia in areas where no giraffes are present. Oxpeckers and egrets are reliant on megafauna for the ticks they play host to. These small birds eat these parasites, making this intraspecific relationship vitally important to both species. Giraffes may not be seen to be as charismatic as other large mammals such as the rhino, elephant or big cat, which is why many do not realise the real plight of these magnificent creatures. 

World Giraffe Day 2016 - (Giraffe Conservation Foundation)

There are actually 9 sub-species of giraffe (though this is currently under review - they think there may be less, but genetic tests are currently being carried out. There also seems to be evidence that all giraffes from the North of Africa are related to each other, and those from the South are all related to each other, but still separate sub species!) These are; Reticulated, Rothschild's, Masai, Angolan, Kordofan, Thornicroft's, South African, West African and the Nubian Giraffe. The giraffe as a species overall is classed as least concern by the IUCN, however, this is currently under review, as is the conservation status of all sub species. Reticulated and Rothschild's giraffes are commonly seen in UK zoos, however, the West African giraffe actually has the lowest number in the wild, and lots of in-situ conservation and research is being conducted by many organisations, primarily the GCF. UK zoos manage giraffe sub species separately (for example, some zoos may have pure bred herds of Rothschild's giraffes, where some may have pure bred Reticulated), but some zoos overseas may allow different sub species to breed with each other.

In-situ conservation is currently ongoing and it involves tracking giraffes, their movements and interactions with others. Research conducted on wild giraffes can hugely benefit the captive population, with behaviour, sociality and nutrition being implemented in captive breeding programs. It works in the other way also, with research on captive giraffes being used to help conserve those in the wild. For example, the biology of the giraffe is something heavily studied. People often wonder how a giraffe drinks, and how it does so without causing a rush of blood to the head. In fact, giraffes splay their front legs, and numerous valves within the giraffes long neck prevent a rush of blood to the head - a really useful evolutionary trait! Another interesting fact is that the tongue of the giraffe is black to help prevent it from becoming sunburnt. As you can imagine, a sunburnt tongue would be incredibly painful, especially when eating rough foliage all day!

GCF putting a GPS tracker on a giraffe. Recently, they have started using trackers that fit over the head (Giraffe Conservation Foundation)

This World Giraffe Day, why not head down to your closest zoo with giraffes, celebrate with face painting and by saying 'Hi!' to the world's tallest land mammal! Last year, the GCF were able to translocate an endangered Rothschild's giraffe to Uganda, introducing new genes to the population, increasing gene flow and genetic diversity within this population. 

If you want to find out more, head over to www.giraffeconservation.org and have a nose at what they're up to!

Also, don't forget, Thursday 23rd June, 8pm, tune in to BBC2 to catch 'Giraffes: Africa's Gentle Giants' where you can see Dr Julian Fennessy (executive director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation) talk about the plight of giraffes, and follow the translocation of endangered giraffes across Africa!

Rothschild's giraffe at Paignton Zoo