Africa’s giraffes threatened with ‘silent extinction’

In Kenya, as across Africa, populations of the world’s tallest mammals are quietly, yet sharply, in decline. Giraffe numbers across the continent fell 40 percent between 1985 and 2015, to just under 100,000 animals, according to the best figures available to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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byAbdulateef Ahmed

September 7, 2025

(190615) -- NAIROBI, June 15, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Giraffes pass by trees in the sunset at Samburu National Reserve, north of Kenya, June 13, 2019. The Samburu National Reserve is located in northern Kenya, covering an area of approximately 165 square kilometers. It attracts animals because of the Ewaso Ng'iro river that runs through it and the mixture of acacia, riverine forest, thorn trees and grassland vegetation. Grevy's zebra, gerenuk, reticulated giraffes and beisa oryx here are more than those in other regions of the country. The reserve is also home to lions, crocodiles, baboons, elephants and hundreds of bird species. (Xinhua/Yang Zhen)

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Abdulateef Ahmed

Abdulateef Ahmed, Digital News Editor and; Research Lead, is a self-driven researcher with exceptional editorial skills. He's a literary bon vivant keenly interested in green energy, food systems, mining, macroeconomics, big data, African political economy, and aviation..