Masai giraffes more endangered than previously thought

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Endangered Masai giraffes are even more at risk than previously thought, researchers from Penn State University have found.

Because of a valley running through Kenya and Tanzania, the subspecies has divided into two groups that haven’t interbred in more than 250,000 years. It means there are actually two smaller groups of separate species — and both are at risk. These giraffes are facing a greater threat to their existence than previously thought.

The study has shown that the Great Rift Valley running through Kenya and Tanzania has divided the subspecies, stopping the exchange of genetic material. The genomic analysis of 100 Masai giraffes showed that the giraffes had not migrated from either side of the rift to breed in the past 250,000 to 300,000 years. Interbreeding is of great significance as it enhances genetic diversity, thus shielding small populations from diseases.

The Masai giraffe is also known as the Kilimanjaro giraffe and is found exclusively in Kenya and Tanzania. However, its population has declined over the last three decades from 70,000 to 35,000 individuals in the wild, thus leading to its classification as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The main threats to the species are poaching as well as habitat loss and fragmentation, according to the IUCN. Kenya’s savanna ecosystems host three out of nine giraffe species, attracting numerous tourists.

Conservationists are campaigning for a giraffe poaching ban. “I do know that our regulations, policy, giraffes were not classified as an endangered species so if today you arrest someone with a giraffe’s product, there is no regulation at the moment. What we only talk about is bushmeat. Bushmeat is any species that is not of concern. So it is time the policymakers craft a wildlife policy immediately as soon as we can to put those animals there,” says Jim Justus Nyamu, executive director of Elephant Neighbors Center.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

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[Masai giraffes at Nairobi National Park]

[Researchers working in a Pennsylvania State University laboratory]

Douglas Cavener (interview): “This study is to examine giraffes east and west of the Great Rift that dissects down through Kenya and Tanzania and to determine how closely related these giraffes are to each other. And what we found is that genetically, they are not as closely related to each other as we thought, and it’s concerning because they are really now separate populations, and so their fate going into the future is, they are not dependent on each other anymore. They are separate, independent, and their numbers are small.”

[Masai Giraffes in Tanzania]

Douglas Cavener (interview): “What we now know is that 35,000 giraffes are actually split into two, so there is no more than probably 20,000 giraffes on either side of the escarpment. And that’s really worrying because the total number of Masai giraffes is also known to be very small, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the so-called IUCN had declared the Masai giraffe to be a threatened species, but this (what) actually makes things even more concerning and worrying is that, as the population gets really small, then that increases the probability that individuals that are very closely related to each other will breed with other and that can lead to what is called as inbreeding depression, and that can go into a tailspin and the species can completely collapse.”

[Masai giraffes at Nairobi National Park]

Jim Justus Nyamu (interview): “Giraffes play a significant role. They are actually part of the multiple species associations whereby there are species that depend on them, from zebras, from the warthogs and others. Because when there are other predators coming, giraffes are able to spot. The other thing is that they also open the shrubs for other animals because they browse and they are able to eat those shrubs so they open the area for them. So losing giraffes means losing other species that depend on giraffes.”

[Masai giraffes at Nairobi National Park]

Jim Justus Nyamu (interview): “It was not until 2019, when giraffes were classified as endangered species by the IUCN. Looking at the threats that are not even ending because we look at the land use changing and giraffes are not animals that require a very small kernel range or habitat, they need a big area and they are shrinking. Some of the things that we have seen even in parks, like Tsavo and Amboseli, where we are losing the tree cover, so giraffes are getting out of the park and the area they are moving into, they are actually on community land, so conflict continues to increase.”

[Masai giraffes at Nairobi National Park]

Jim Justus Nyamu (interview): “I do know that our regulations, policy, giraffes were not classified as an endangered species so if today you arrest someone with a giraffe’s product, there is no regulation at the moment. What we only talk about is bushmeat. Bushmeat is any species that is not of concern. So it is time the policy makers craft a wildlife policy immediately as soon as we can to put those animals there.”

[Masai giraffes at Nairobi National Park]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.

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