Stand Tall for Giraffe on June 21, 2020

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In the US this year, most people will associate June 21 with Father's Day, BUT it's also World Giraffe Day.

Conservationists, determined to keep the giraffe from going extinct in the wild, selected June 21 to remind us of the giraffe's plight because, depending on where you live, it's either  the longest day or the longest night of the year. Since the giraffe is the tallest land animal, it made sense to go with this day.

Giraffe populations have dropped over 40% in the last 30 years, and their numbers are less than 100,000!

You can help save the giraffes by donating to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF).

Most people are unaware of their decreasing numbers because we're not shown pictures of senseless hunting of giraffes like other threatened species. Make no mistake, they are hunted for their tails, hides, meats, and for trophies.

Besides hunting, they are losing their habitat to the spread of humans in their territories.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists one species of giraffe as vulnerable to extinction.

Giraffe Species: 1 or 4?


In the last few years, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and other wildlife experts reclassified giraffes into four species and five subspecies of giraffe as opposed to the classification of one species with nine subspecies currently recognized by the IUCN.

Below are statistics on the decreasing populations of three of the four reclassified species:

  • Northern giraffe: numbers have declined by more than 90%
  • Reticulated giraffe: numbers have declined by almost 80%
  • Masai giraffe: numbers have declined by more than 50%

 

How Can You Help Giraffes Survive?


Donate to the GCF to support the study and conservation efforts in Africa.

Like the GCF's Facebook page to learn more about the work of this organization.

Whatever you do, don't ignore this troubling issue.

A world without giraffes will be a sad one indeed.

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