By Balozi Mwambire
International Union of Conservation and Nature (IUCN) have declared Maasai Giraffe found in Kenya and Tanzania endangered.
The global conservation group listed the sub-species as endangered following the decline in their population.
Maasai giraffe is one of the nine giraffe sub-species and are found only in Kenya and Tanzania. According to the IUCN, there are only 35, 000 of the species remaining. Most of animals were killed through poaching reported in Serengeti National Park between the 1970s and 2000s.
This decrease is said to be almost 50 per cent in the last three decades. The conservation group observed that in 30 years, between 1986 and 2016, Maasai giraffe numbers in Tanzania declined by 37 to 43 per cent from between approximately 37,000 to 39,000 down to 23,000.
“Maasai giraffe numbers in Kenya declined from approximately 32,000 to 12,000, a 63 percent reduction, in approximately 38 years, a reduction of nearly two-thirds since 1977,” the IUCN indicated.