The Population Is Very Worrying, Giraffes Enter The List Of Endangered Animals

JAKARTA - The giraffe population continues to decline to an alarming extent. The United States Fisheries and Wildlife Service said that several giraffe species were already in endangered animals.

Launching from The Guardian, on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the increasingly rare condition of the giraffe is influenced by habitat loss, poaching, urbanization, and drought triggered by climate change. This condition led US wildlife officials to make proposals to protect some species of giraffes.

This is the first time the African animal has received federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Declaring a species threatened with extinction under the law is the most severe level of threat, indicating the species is at high risk of extinction.

The protection of these giraffes aims to maintain its sustainability, ecosystem health, and combat illegal acts that threaten the existence of giraffes. It is hoped that the people of the United States will contribute to preserving the giraffe, not reducing its population.

The federal protection of giraffes will help protect vulnerable species, maintain biodiversity, support ecosystem health, and encourage sustainable economic practices, said director of the United States Fisheries and Wildlife Service, Martha Williams.

"This action supports giraffe conservation while ensuring the United States does not contribute further to its population decline," he added.

Meanwhile, the three giraffe subspecies proposed to be included in the list of endangered species by the United States are West African giraffes, Kordofan, Nubia. The giraffe population has fallen by about 77 percent since 1985, from 25,635 to 5,919.

The United States has long been a significant market for parts and products of giraffes. The country has even imported nearly 40,000 individuals in a decade, the 2018 report said.

United States hunters hunt for giraffes to take parts of their bodies, especially the neck and head, which will usually be attached to walls or become plaquettes. In Africa there is a severe drought, thus putting difficult pressure on the giraffe population.