World Giraffe Day

World Giraffe Day is an annual event initiated by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the leading international charity dedicated to giraffe conservation, to celebrate the tallest animal on the longest day or night of the year.

The purpose of the event is to raise awareness and shed a light on the challenges faced by giraffe in the wild (habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, etc.). 

A century ago, more than 1 million giraffe roamed across Africa, but today only a little more than 100k individuals remain in the wild, in fragmented populations. In 1999, it was estimated that over 140,000 giraffes existed in the wild, but estimations as of 2016 indicate that there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild, down from 155,000 in 1985.

Giraffes have a scattered range, which extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger  in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodland.

Giraffes are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN’s Red list. The primary causes for giraffe population declines are habitat loss and direct killing for bushmeat markets.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation is dedicated to a sustainable future for all giraffe populations in the wild. GCF is the only NGO in the world that concentrates solely on the conservation and management of giraffe in the wild throughout Africa.

Hashtags: #WorldGiraffeDay 

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