Giraffe: the forgotten megafauna

Perhaps because they are silent giants synonymous with zoos and the African landscape it is difficult to imagine a world without the iconic species known as giraffe. Their unique familiarity ingrained in human consciousness may help explain how the tallest land mammal suddenly and quietly slipped from "least concern" to "endangered" status according to the IUCN, much to the surprise of everyone over the past few years, even wildlife professionals. Now that we've all been warned of the peril facing the "watchtowers of the savanna," zoological institutions like the San Diego Zoo Global's Institute for Conservation Research are working in Northern Kenya and elsewhere to study and stabilize giraffe populations through in situ and ex situ studies relying on local communities, technology, and crowdsourcing. Researchers David O'Connor and Jenna Stacy-Dawes describe the latest giraffe news as well as how anyone can get involved in original research like thousands of people already have to help giraffe and other African species at risk through SDZG's website www.WildWatchKenya.org.

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