Why shoot a 14ft gentle giant - Giraffe
Facts
Giraffa camelopardalis
The closest related animal to the giraffe is the okapi.
Giraffes primarily eat leaves, especially from acacia, mimosa, and wild apricot trees. Their long, bluish, and flexible tongues can extend up to 18 inches to pluck leaves. Because they obtain moisture from the breakdown of leaves during digestion, giraffes can go for months without water.
Giraffes are born after a gestation of 15 months. Newborn giraffes can stand on their own within about 20 minutes and may be 6.5 feet tall at birth. The calves double their height within a year. Male giraffes are larger than females and can grow to 17 feet tall and weigh between 1,200 and 4,250 pounds.
Giraffes can live up to 25 years in the wild and even longer in captivity.
The giraffe has one of the shortest sleep requirements of any mammal, averaging less than two hours per day. It also has the longest tail—at about 8 feet.
Giraffes are essentially silent animals but can grunt, snort, whistle, and bleat.
The iconic Giraffe Manor, located in Nairobi, Kenya should be on everyone's bucket list. Sharing your breakfast with the endangered Rothschild Giraffe is an incredible, totally unique experience. When planning your safari it is the perfect start or finish to what will undoubtedly be a magical trip.
Facts
Giraffa camelopardalis
The closest related animal to the giraffe is the okapi.
Also on the endangered list
Giraffes primarily eat leaves, especially from acacia, mimosa, and wild apricot trees. Their long, bluish, and flexible tongues can extend up to 18 inches to pluck leaves. Because they obtain moisture from the breakdown of leaves during digestion, giraffes can go for months without water.
Giraffes are born after a gestation of 15 months. Newborn giraffes can stand on their own within about 20 minutes and may be 6.5 feet tall at birth. The calves double their height within a year. Male giraffes are larger than females and can grow to 17 feet tall and weigh between 1,200 and 4,250 pounds.
Giraffes can live up to 25 years in the wild and even longer in captivity.
The giraffe has one of the shortest sleep requirements of any mammal, averaging less than two hours per day. It also has the longest tail—at about 8 feet.
Giraffes are essentially silent animals but can grunt, snort, whistle, and bleat.
There are nine subspecies of giraffes in Africa, each distinguished by geographic location and the colour, pattern and shape of their spotted coats.
The animals in Niger are known as Giraffa camelopardalis peralta, the most endangered subspecies in Africa. They have large orange-brown spots that fade into pale white legs.
Ten years ago, an estimated 140,000 giraffes inhabited Africa, according to Julian Fennessy, a Nairobi, Kenya-based conservation expert. Today, giraffes number less than 100,000, devastated by poaching, war, advancing deserts and exploding human populations that have destroyed and fragmented their habitats. Around half the giraffes live outside game parks in the wild, where they are more difficult to monitor and protect, Fennessy said.
Giraffe hunting is prohibited in many countries. And some, like Kenya, have taken giraffe meat off the menu of tourist restaurants that once served them up on huge skewers. Even so. The plight of giraffes has largely been overlooked in conservation circles.
The animals in Niger are known as Giraffa camelopardalis peralta, the most endangered subspecies in Africa. They have large orange-brown spots that fade into pale white legs.
Ten years ago, an estimated 140,000 giraffes inhabited Africa, according to Julian Fennessy, a Nairobi, Kenya-based conservation expert. Today, giraffes number less than 100,000, devastated by poaching, war, advancing deserts and exploding human populations that have destroyed and fragmented their habitats. Around half the giraffes live outside game parks in the wild, where they are more difficult to monitor and protect, Fennessy said.
Giraffe hunting is prohibited in many countries. And some, like Kenya, have taken giraffe meat off the menu of tourist restaurants that once served them up on huge skewers. Even so. The plight of giraffes has largely been overlooked in conservation circles.
Is this really fun for all the family? The giraffe hunters who pay £10,000 to shoot the gentle giants with guns and bows for sport.
Tourist trophy hunters are paying thousands of pounds to go and shoot giraffes with high-powered guns and bows.
The gentle giants are loved around the world for their comical appearance and gentle nature.
The gentle giants are loved around the world for their comical appearance and gentle nature.
But shocking images show how scores of big-spending men and women - and even families - travel from across the globe, some even from Britain, to kill them for sport.
Not all Giraffe are the same
The latest statistic show the number of giraffes in the world have nearly halved since 1988 from over 140,000 to less than 80,000.
Dr. Julian Fennessy produced the report for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Another recent IUCN report suggests the giraffe may already need to be listed as a threatened species - because some populations are being decimated in places like West Africa and DR Congo.
They are already thought to be extinct in Angola, Mali and Nigeria.
Dr. Julian Fennessy produced the report for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Another recent IUCN report suggests the giraffe may already need to be listed as a threatened species - because some populations are being decimated in places like West Africa and DR Congo.
They are already thought to be extinct in Angola, Mali and Nigeria.
It is without doubt that many animals on planet earth are under threat by humans, all that some of us can do is create awareness in anyway we can.
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