Giraffes under siege

The gentle creature could become extinct

Few animals are as graceful and fun to watch in national parks and zoo settings as giraffes. Unlike other creatures in the wild, giraffes exude a gentleness that seems otherworldly for creatures that have to deal with all kinds of predators — both the two-legged and four-legged kind.

Unlike a spitting camel or a pugnacious kangaroo, it’s difficult for a human to feel threatened by a giraffe. The scariest giraffe mankind has ever encountered was arguably in a Salvador Dali painting, and that was because it was on fire.

But according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the worldwide giraffe population has shrunk 40 percent to 97,562. This is down from 151,000 in the last 30 years. These most gentle of creatures is quickly going extinct because its grassland habitat is being encroached upon by human development.

The Zoological Society of London reports that giraffes are now officially gone from Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal, where they were once plentiful. They can still be found in countries in southern Africa, but the numbers don’t look good in the long run, thanks to poaching and disease.

Giraffes aren’t hunted for their hides or meat. Unlike elephants and rhinos, they’re not bearers of ivory or horns that will enhance male virility when ground into dust. They simply have the bad luck of living on land humans have decided they’re more entitled to.

In this battle of wills with humans, the giraffes don’t have a chance. Unless humanity comes to its senses and leaves them alone, the giraffe population will continue to dwindle, leaving only archival images, videos and fond memories of this marvelous creature.