Editing Giraffe (section)

==Conservation status==
In 2016, giraffes were assessed as [[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]] from a conservation perspective by the IUCN.<ref name=iucn/> In 1985, it was estimated there were 155,000 giraffes in the wild. This declined to over 140,000 in 1999.<ref name="wildstatus">{{cite web|url=http://www.giraffeconservation.org/giraffe_facts.php?pgid=40|title=Giraffe – The Facts: Current giraffe status?|publisher=Giraffe Conservation Foundation|access-date=21 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319183600/http://www.giraffeconservation.org/giraffe_facts.php?pgid=40|archive-date=19 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of ''Giraffa'' in the wild.<ref>{{cite news|author=Matt McGrath|date=8 December 2016|title=Giraffes facing 'silent extinction' as population plunges|publisher=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38240760|access-date=8 December 2016|archive-date=21 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521190734/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38240760|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=New bird species and giraffe under threat – IUCN Red List|date=8 December 2016|url=https://www.iucn.org/news/new-bird-species-and-giraffe-under-threat-%E2%80%93-iucn-red-list|access-date=8 December 2016|archive-date=5 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305022533/https://www.iucn.org/news/new-bird-species-and-giraffe-under-threat-%E2%80%93-iucn-red-list|url-status=live}}</ref> The Masai and reticulated subspecies are [[Endangered species|endangered]],<ref>{{cite iucn|author=Bolger, D.|author2=Ogutu, J.|author3=Strauss, M.|author4=Lee, D.|author5=Muneza, A.|author6=Fennessy, J.|author7=Brown, D.|year=2019|title=Masai Giraffe|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T88421036A88421121.en}}</ref><ref>{{cite iucn|title=Reticulated Giraffe|author=Muneza, A.|author2=Doherty, J. B.|author3=Hussein Ali, A.|author4=Fennessy, J.|author5=Marais, A.|author6=O'Connor, D.|author7=Wube, T.|year=2018|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T88420717A88420720.en}}</ref> and the Rothschild subspecies is [[Near-threatened species|near threatened]].<ref name="IUCNrothschildi" /> The Nubian subspecies is [[critically endangered]].<ref name="IUCNnubian">{{cite iucn|author=Wube, T.|author2=Doherty, J. B.|author3=Fennessy, J.|author4=Marais, A.|year=2018|title=''Giraffa camelopardalis'' ssp. ''camelopardalis''|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T88420707A88420710.en}}</ref>
[[File:Giraffe koure niger 2006.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Photograph of an endangered West African giraffe|Endangered [[West African giraffe]] near [[Kouré|Koure]], Niger]]
The primary causes for giraffe population declines are [[habitat destruction|habitat loss]] and direct killing for [[bushmeat]] markets. Giraffes have been [[Local extinction|extirpated]] from much of their historic range, including [[Eritrea]], [[Guinea]], [[Mauritania]] and [[Senegal]].<ref name="iucn" /> They may also have disappeared from [[Angola]], [[Mali]], and [[Nigeria]], but have been introduced to [[Rwanda]] and [[Eswatini]].<ref name=iucn/><ref name=IUCNnubian/> {{As of|2010}}, there were more than 1,600 in captivity at [[Species360]]-registered zoos.<ref name="ISIS" /> Habitat destruction has hurt the giraffe. In the [[Sahel]], the need for firewood and grazing room for livestock has led to [[deforestation]]. Normally, giraffes can coexist with livestock, since they avoid direct competition by feeding above them.<ref name="MacDonald" /> In 2017, severe droughts in northern Kenya led to increased tensions over land and the killing of wildlife by herders, with giraffe populations being particularly hit.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Qiu, Jane|author-link=Jane Qiu|title=Surge in wildlife killings is wiping out giraffes|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/surge-wildlife-killings-wiping-out-giraffes?et_rid=305708592&et_cid=1399786|date=2017|doi=10.1126/science.aan7000|access-date=30 June 2022|archive-date=9 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209060153/https://www.science.org/content/article/surge-wildlife-killings-wiping-out-giraffes?et_rid=305708592&et_cid=1399786|url-status=live}}</ref>

Protected areas like national parks provide important habitat and anti-[[poaching]] protection to giraffe populations.<ref name=iucn/> Community-based conservation efforts outside national parks are also effective at protecting giraffes and their habitats.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lee|first=Derek E.|date=2018|title=Evaluating conservation effectiveness in a Tanzanian community wildlife management area|url=https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.21549|journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|language=en|volume=82|issue=8|pages=1767–1774|doi=10.1002/jwmg.21549|bibcode=2018JWMan..82.1767L |s2cid=91251633|issn=1937-2817|access-date=16 November 2020|archive-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026202649/https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.21549|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Derek E|last2=Bond|first2=Monica L. |date=2018 |title=Quantifying the ecological success of a community-based wildlife conservation area in Tanzania|url= |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]]|volume=99|issue=2|pages=459–464|doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyy014|issn=0022-2372|pmc=5965405|pmid=29867255}}</ref> Private game reserves have contributed to the preservation of giraffe populations in eastern and southern Africa.<ref name="MacDonald" /> The giraffe is a protected species in most of its range. It is the [[national animal]] of Tanzania,<ref>{{Cite book|author=Knappert, J|title=East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda|publisher=Vikas Publishing House|year=1987|isbn=978-0-7069-2822-8|page=57|author-link=Jan Knappert}}</ref> and is protected by law,<ref name="FoleyFoley2014">{{cite book|author1=Charles Foley|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dt6QAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA179|title=A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania|author2=Lara Foley|author3=Alex Lobora|author4=Daniela De Luca|author5=Maurus Msuha|author6=Tim R. B. Davenport|author7=Sarah M. Durant|date=2014|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-1-4008-5280-2|page=179|access-date=13 July 2016|archive-date=22 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922074122/https://books.google.com/books?id=dt6QAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA179|url-status=live}}</ref> and unauthorised killing can result in imprisonment.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Symbols: National Animal|url=http://tanzania.go.tz/home/pages/260|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118195350/http://tanzania.go.tz/home/pages/260|archive-date=18 January 2015|access-date=14 January 2015|website=tanzania.go.tz|publisher=Tanzania Government Portal}}</ref> The UN-backed Convention of Migratory Species selected giraffes for protection in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|date=28 October 2017|title=Chimpanzees among 33 breeds selected for special protection|publisher=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41791842|access-date=30 October 2017|archive-date=29 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029055127/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41791842|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, giraffes were listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ([[CITES]]), which means international trade including in parts/derivatives is regulated.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Good News for Giraffes at CITES CoP18 > Newsroom|url=https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/12930/Good-News-for-Giraffes-at-CITES-CoP18.aspx|access-date=16 November 2020|website=newsroom.wcs.org|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927225103/https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/12930/Good-News-for-Giraffes-at-CITES-CoP18.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Translocation (Wildlife conservation)|Translocations]] are sometimes used to augment or re-establish diminished or extirpated populations, but these activities are risky and difficult to undertake using the best practices of extensive pre- and post-translocation studies and ensuring a viable founding population.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Muller|first1=Zoe|last2=Lee|first2=Derek E.|last3=Scheijen|first3=Ciska P. J.|last4=Strauss|first4=Megan K. L.|last5=Carter|first5=Kerryn D.|last6=Deacon|first6=Francois|date=2020|title=Giraffe translocations: A review and discussion of considerations|journal=[[African Journal of Ecology]] |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=159–171 |doi=10.1111/aje.12727 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2020AfJEc..58..159M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=De |last2=Fienieg |first2=E. |last3=Van Oosterhout |first3=C. |last4=Muller |first4=Z. |last5=Strauss |first5=M. |last6=Carter |first6=Kd. |last7=Scheijen |first7=Cpj |last8=Deacon |first8=F. |date=27 February 2020 |title=Giraffe translocation population viability analysis |url=https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v41/p245-252/ |journal=Endangered Species Research |volume=41 |pages=245–252 |doi=10.3354/esr01022 |doi-access=free |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924020906/https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v41/p245-252/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Aerial survey is the most common method of monitoring giraffe population trends in the vast roadless tracts of African landscapes, but aerial methods are known to undercount giraffes. Ground-based survey methods are more accurate and can be used in conjunction with aerial surveys to make accurate estimates of population sizes and trends.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Derek E.|last2=Bond|first2=Monica L.|date=2016|title=Precision, accuracy, and costs of survey methods for giraffe ''Giraffa camelopardalis''|journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |volume=97 |issue=3|pages=940–948|doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyw025 |s2cid=87384776 |doi-access=free}}</ref>