Saving the South African Giraffe is a Tall Order
As I would look through the wild bush of South Africa’s Kruger National Park, it was always exciting to see the tallest animal in the world peeking through the trees: the giraffe. The air felt calm as I watched them walk from tree to tree, and it was hard for me to believe that this long-necked icon of the wild is critically endangered. Giraffes are in decline all over Africa as a result of human-induced habitat loss, but what is even less talked about is how they are a target for being hunted by the poor who kill for food and to sell their parts, and those who are wealthy and do it for sport: trophy hunters (Wilson-Spath, Andreas). This threat is so serious that unless we act now to protect them, in 30 years we probably won’t see a single giraffe in the rest of Africa (Wilson-Spath, Andreas). Giving the vulnerable status of these icons, the scale of commercial trophy hunting mainly conducted in South Africa is astonishing, and deeply troubling. To put this in perspective, 95% of all individual giraffes imported to the U.S. were killed by trophy hunters, and of those numbers, 60% came from South Africa (Nikela). Our conservation mission needs to be tighter protection measures specifically for giraffes in ways of hunting and minimizing harm by local South Africans.
When thinking about local and global solutions, it may come as a shock to hear that the giraffe hasn’t been listed for protection this entire time. The first step that needs to be made is to get the species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and one way to make that happen is to join forces with the Humane Society International (HSI) and spread awareness of their petition for the needed protection (Nikela). Although getting this approved wouldn’t ban international trade outright, it would put in some safeguards to monitor the situation, and assure any trade going on is of the legal variety. There is always the argument that no matter how illegal something is it won’t stop the criminal, and as true as that may appear it does help to catch them and prevent others from attempting it.
Hunting tends to be done by those who are poor for the need for food. This is where another holistic approach to counter hunting or poaching by the poor is to hire and train more security. Kruger National Park receives financial donations from all over the world as well as support from tourists that pay to go on safari and they make approximately half a billion rand a year (National Parks Income). Kruger is a major benefit for locals in the community because it is viewed as a great place to make income to provide for their family. They provide their workers with housing, food, and pay that can be sent to their family, but the main downfall that I learned about was that their family doesn’t get to live with them, and they only see their children every three to four months. The hardships of missing loved ones are considered worth it for food and the hope of a brighter future. Keeping all of this in mind and how the battle for poverty is raging but tourism is on the rise, Kruger needs to send local community members to the Southern African Wildlife College to train them to be rangers and hired in their parks, as well as hire more security to tighten up protection of wild animals. Lastly, Kruger needs to bring in the children of the communities that live right outside them inside their parks and teach them about animals and their importance in our world. There needs to be a connection made that keeping these animals with us will also provide for their well-being and a brighter tomorrow.
Works Cited
Wilson-Spath, Andreas. “Tall Order to Save the Giraffe.” Conservation Action Trust, 18 Sept. 2019, conservationaction.co.za/media-articles/tall-order-to-save-the-giraffe/.
Nikela Volunteer/Guest. “Poaching and Trophy Hunting Endanger Africa’s Fragile Giraffe Populations.” Nikela, 26 Apr. 2019, www.nikela.org/poaching-and-trophy-hunting-endanger-africas-fragile-giraffe-populations/.
“National Parks Tourism Income Breaks the Half-a-Billion Rand Barrier.” Http://Www.krugerpark.co.za, www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpark-times-5-2-national-parks-tourism-income-24866.html.
