The Rothschild's Giraffe Project
Knowledge through research
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Conservation Concern
The Rothschild's giraffe was once wide ranging accross Sudan, Uganda and western Kenya. However habitat encraochment, human settlement and widespread poaching have led to a severe decrease in their numbers and have severely restricted their home range.
The Rothschild's giraffe is now extinct in Sudan and only a small number of animals remain in Uganda and Kenya.
Historic range of the Rothschild 's giraffe
A dissappearing megaherbivore
The Rothschild's giraffe is the second most imperiled giraffe sub-species with less than 650 individuals remaining in the wild.
The remaining wild Rothschild's giraffe are confined to a few small, enclosed populations in Kenya and Uganda. Recent genetic evidence suggests that the Rothschild giraffe is genetically distinct from other giraffe species and may even be a seperate species althogether. This information along with their critically low population figures makes the Rothschild's giraffe a huge priority for conservation.
Giraffe are often not thought of as an 'endangered species' yet all the recent research, genetic evidence and low population estimates suggests otherwise. If we look at the Rothschild 's giraffe in context with other widely recognised endangered animals, it presents a worrying picture;
Remaining populations (shown as red dots)
| Species | Number left in wild | Population Trend | Conservation Status |
| African Elephant | 500,000 | Increasing | Near Threatened |
| Chimpanzee | 172,700 to 299,700 | Decreasing | Endangered |
| White Rhino | 17,480 | Increasing | Near Threatened |
| Black Rhino | 4,180 | Increasing | Critically Endangered |
| Tigers | 3,402-5,140 | Decreasing | Endangered |
| Giant Panda | 2,500 | Decreasing | Endangered |
| Rothschild's Giraffe | < 650 | Decreasing | Endangered |
Data taken from the 2010 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species www.iucnredlist.org
The way forward?
We can only create suitable and effective conservation plans for a species if we know as much as possible about that species’ ecological and behavioural requirements.
The Rothschild’s Giraffe Project is collating vital information on the wild behaviour and ecology of Rothschild’s giraffe to allow the development of such conservation strategy, and to ensure this species does not go extinct in the wild.
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