Giraffe - Relationship With Humans - Exploitation and Conservation Status

Exploitation and Conservation Status

Giraffes were probably common targets for hunters throughout Africa. Different parts of their bodies were used for different purposes. Their meat was used for food. The tail hairs served as flyswatters, bracelets, necklaces and thread. Shields, sandals and drums were made using the skin, and the strings of musical instruments were from the tendons. The smoke from burning giraffe skins was used by the medicine men of Buganda to treat nose bleeds. In the 19th Century, European explorers begin hunting them for sport. Habitat destruction has hurt the giraffe, too: in the Sahel, the need for firewood and grazing room for livestock has led to deforestation. Normally, giraffes can coexist with livestock, since they do not directly compete with them.

The giraffe species as a whole is assessed as Least Concern from a conservation perspective by the IUCN, as it is still numerous. However, giraffes have been extirpated from much of their historic range including Eritrea, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal. They may also have disappeared from Angola, Mali, and Nigeria, but have been introduced to Rwanda and Swaziland. Two subspecies, the West African giraffe and the Rothschild giraffe, have been classified as Endangered, as wild populations of each of them number in the hundreds. In 1997, Jonathan Kingdon suggested that the Nubian giraffe was the most threatened of all giraffes; as of 2010, it may number fewer than 250, although this estimate is uncertain. Private game reserves have contributed to the preservation of giraffe populations in southern Africa. Giraffe Manor is a popular hotel in Nairobi which also serves a sanctuary for Rothschild's giraffes. The giraffe is a protected species in most of its range. In 1999, it was estimated that over 140,000 giraffes existed in the wild, but estimates in 2010 indicate that fewer than 80,000 remain.