U.S. to Consider Listing Giraffes as Endangered Species

[douglas9]

Federal wildlife officials said Thursday that they would officially consider listing the giraffe as an endangered species, a move long sought by conservationists alarmed by the African mammal’s precipitous decline and a growing domestic market for giraffe products.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday that it had found “substantial information” that listing giraffes as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act “may be warranted.” The finding came more than two years after conservation groups petitioned the Trump administration for the protection, warning that the animals were in danger of extinction.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will now begin an in-depth review before making a final decision. The process could take years, conservationists said.


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/27/science/giraffes-endangered-species.html

[tirebiter]

1. Have you seen any?

They’re nowhere except zoos.

[Croney]

2. Trying to imagine a world where we have to tell our grandchildren,

There used to be these very tall, elegant, majestic animals... here, let me show you a picture. 😕

[douglas9]

3. Killing of African Giraffe Sets Off Anger at 'White American Savage' Who Shot It

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/world/africa/woman-kills-giraffe.html

[douglas9]

4. Americans Have a Surprisingly Large Appetite for Giraffe Parts

An investigation shows 40,000 giraffe products representing 4,000 of the endangered animals have been legally imported over the last decade


While animal prints have gone in and out of fashion over the decades (for what it’s worth, they are currently in), actual exotic animal skins are generally frowned upon by eco-conscious consumers. But a new investigation by Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States reveals that some Americans have a taste for the real thing: Over the last decade, 40,000 giraffe skins and body parts have been imported into the U.S. from Africa.

In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the scientific body that maintains the international endangered species list, placed giraffes on the list for the first time, changing their status from “least concern” to “vulnerable” and listing two subspecies as “endangered.” That’s because habitat degradation, poaching and human conflicts have reduced giraffe numbers by more than 30 percent over 30 years, to just under 100,000 animals. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which administers the endangered species list in the United States, does not list giraffes as endangered, meaning that it’s still legal to import bits and pieces of giraffes into the U.S.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americans-have-surprisingly-large-appetite-giraffe-parts-180970126/