SILENT EXTINCTION OF GIRAFFE IN AFRICA

At the continental scale, the population of these mammals has indeed decreased by about 40% between 1985 and 2015, to reach 98,000 individuals, according to figures compiled by the International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUCN) .

However, the NGO identifies distinct regional dynamics.

In Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic, for example, conflicts encourage poaching and make it almost impossible to study and protect giraffes.

In eastern Africa, the crawling giraffe - one of four major species of giraffe - has lost about 60% of its individuals. The Nubian Giraffe, meanwhile, has experienced a tragic decline of 97% while in Central Africa, the giraffe population of Kordofan has decreased by 85%.

Only southern Africa is experiencing an increase in the number of giraffes.

The giraffe is an animal that arouses little interest among researchers, its gradual extinction risk going unnoticed !