Giraffes May Be The Next Specie To Be Endangered If Humans Do Not Take Immediate Steps
Conservationists have lodged a formal request for the US government to list giraffes as endangered to prevent their extinction.
Animal hunting by humans has dilapidated the relation between the two drastically. Years of animal killing for human purposes have reduced them in numbers so terribly that there is hardly any left in the wild. The condition is so severe that they are on the verge of being listed under endangered and extinct species.
Various reasons including loss of habitat and hunting are some of the major reasons that have caused the mass extinction of many while endangerment of others. Species of tiger, panda, rhino, orangutan, whales, and turtles are among world's top 10 most endangered animals. If the current situation prevails, giraffes seem to be next to enter the list.
Conservationists have lodged a formal request for the US government to list giraffes as endangered to prevent their extinction. A legal petition filed by five environmental groups has demanded that the US Fish and Wildlife Service provide endangered species protections to the giraffe, which has suffered a precipitous decline in numbers in recent years.
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which listed giraffes as a threatened species in December, just 97,500 of the animals exist in sub-Saharan Africa today, a drop of almost 40% since 1985. There are now fewer giraffes than elephants in Africa.
Following the steep decline in the number of giraffes, a legal petition filed by the IUCN now asks Fish and Wildlife Service to offer protection to the animals. The reason the US is being called upon is that it's the largest known importer of trophy hunters seeking expensive expeditions. Conservationist groups state the giraffe population would improve if trophy imports were banned.
While illegal hunting and loss of habitat are among the main reasons of their population being reduced, their collisions with vehicles and power lines have also lead to their deaths. Another major reason is the increase in pressure from "trophy" hunters.
According to the IUCN analysis of import data, Americans imported 21,402 bone carvings, 3,008 skin pieces and 3,744 miscellaneous hunting trophies from giraffes over the past ten years. At least 3,700 giraffes have allegedly been killed for these items.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2018 04:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).