Giraffe numbers have plummeted by a staggering 40% in the last three decades, and less than 100,000 remain today, but these 3 bring more hope for the species.
The Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Zambia (25 January 2022) – The River Club boutique lodge, 18 km/ 11 miles upstream from the town of Livingstone in Zambia and the renowned Victoria Falls, has welcomed two female and one male giraffe.
Originating from a game farm in Choma, southern Zambia, the two females, Geraldine and Juju (short for Justyne), both under two years old and Joshua, the four-year-old male, arrived in the early hours of a December morning to a holding boma on the property. Set on 26 ha/ 65 acres of privately owned land, the lodge is located on a magnificent vantage point that provides extensive views over a sweeping bend of the Zambezi River.
“We are thrilled to welcome the three youngsters to The River Club; it has been a personal dream for years to have giraffe on the property, along with other smaller animals such as bushbuck (already here) and impala,” says Peter Jones, resident owner of The River Club.
Giraffes are already extinct in at least seven countries in Africa and, as a species, is listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List.
There are four distinct species of giraffe:
- Northern giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis,
- Southern giraffe giraffa (from which the three originate),
- Reticulated giraffe G. reticulata and
- Masai giraffe G. tippelskirchi.
Giraffe numbers have plummeted by a staggering 40% in the last three decades, and less than 100,000 remain today. Habitat loss through expanding agriculture, human-wildlife conflict, civil unrest and poaching for their meat, pelts, and tails are among the primary reasons for the decline. Although this sounds the alarm, there is reason for hope. In the past few decades, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation have managed to pull the West African giraffe back from the brink of extinction.
Although the giraffa subspecies seems to be increasing in numbers, others, especially the Thornicroft in Luangwa, are not so fortunate.
“We would like guests to better understand this mammal so often seen during their travels but not fully understood, and also to learn of the danger they are currently facing,” continues Jones.
Future plans include linking into the global NGO Giraffe Conservation to help raise funds in order to support giraffe conservation around Africa.
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