Scientists have puzzled over the distinctive form of giraffes at least since Charles Darwin and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (figuratively) butted heads over how the towering ungulates got their long necks. The Darwinian theory still prevails, but which of the two processes —natural selection or sexual selection—plays a more important role still divides evolutionary biologists. A new […]
Tag: Giraffa camelopardalis
Organizations aim to block funds for East African oil pipeline
National and international NGOs from around the world have asked more than two dozen banks not to finance a 1,445-kilometer (898-mile) pipeline to shuttle oil from fields in Uganda to a port on Tanzania’s coast. The groups contend that the project is already impinging on communities and exacerbating poverty in the region. Their representatives also […]
Does trophy hunting hurt giraffe populations? A planned lawsuit says it does
Skinned, stuffed and tanned, wild giraffes are up for sale at dozens of stores across the United States. While importing and selling wild giraffes and giraffe products, such as giraffe rugs and taxidermied trophies, is legal in the U.S., conservationists and animal welfare advocates say these practices are nudging the species closer toward extinction. On […]
Lions deal blow to giraffe numbers by targeting young, study finds
Lions put a damper on the number of young giraffes that survive to maturity, according to a new study, raising concerns about a species that has recently slipped into decline. “It is thought that lions preferentially target giraffe calves in the wild, and there is anecdotal evidence of this,” biologist Zoe Muller said in a […]
Inside the Fight to Stop Giraffes’ ‘Silent Extinction’
Giraffe researcher Julian Fennessy recently boarded a helicopter in Ethiopia’s Gambella National Park, which borders the turbulent new nation of South Sudan. His mission: To collar giraffes and collect tissue samples from the animals, which have been rapidly disappearing from Africa in what Fennessy calls a “silent extinction.” After successfully handling one of the Gambella […]