Page 25 - Blue Valley_Issue 1_2022

NATURE

The Supersaurus

press its nose up against office windows five currently positive, particularly in Chad, the Kenya, southern Somalia, and southern
storeys high. Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger. Ethiopia. Today, their numbers and range are
far from accurately known and many are found
Which brings me back to earth . . . and to our In 2015, there were 4 776. In 2020, there were outside protected areas. Kenyan rangelands and
comparatively dainty giraffe. 5 919 – a 24% increase. the Laikipia Plateau remain their stronghold.
The good news is that the giraffe, the world’s But so vulnerable and scattered is the Kordofan In 2015, the IUCN Red List assessed their numbers
tallest living mammal, has strengthened that the foundation says it must remain on the at 8 661. In 2020, the estimate was 15 985 – an
its numbers over the last few years. It is still IUCN’s list as ‘Critically Endangered’ – that’s one increase of 85%. But the dramatic jump in
‘vulnerable’ according to the International category above ‘Extinct in the Wild’. population rather reflects an undercount in 2015
Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) and more accurate surveys since.
Red List. The list categorises animals according Then there’s the Masai giraffe (Giraffa giraffa
to their likelihood to become extinct. There are tippelskirchi), the second most populous Just like the Supersaurus, the giraffe is a
nine categories – Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, species, which is found throughout East Africa, herbivore. But there the similarity ends – the
Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, including large parts of southern Kenya and Supersaurus is categorised as a dinosaur (often
Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the central and northern Tanzania, with a few in referred to as a super lizard), whereas the giraffe
Wild, and Extinct (dead and gone like the dodo). Zambia, where the Luangwa variety, once is a mammal. While a giraffe lives for an average
known as Thornicroft’s giraffe, is now deemed of 26 years in the wild and sometimes for over
Despite the upward trend in giraffe numbers – to be a part of the Masai species. It has richer 30 years in captivity, the Supersaurus’ lifespan
the animal is unique to Africa – it is still in and quite startling chestnut patches divided by was thought to be around 100 years.
‘urgent’ need of protection. This is according more vivid white lines than the subspecies we
to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), get in southern Africa. Amazingly, although the giraffe has a long neck,
which advises the IUCN. it is too short for its mouth to reach water, so it
The increasing number of Masai giraffe is has to spread its front legs and grossly bend its
There are now just over 117 000 giraffe left in partly due to more accurate counting as well as knees.
the wild, yet these mammals are today more enlightened conservation measures.
vulnerable to population collapse than even When it does lower its head, one can be forgiven
the elephant, whose African population is three In 2015, there were 31 611. In 2020, 45 402 – for wondering why the pressure of the blood
times larger. an increase of 44%. It is likely to remain in the coursing down the thick artery in its neck does
category of ‘Vulnerable’ – that is ‘Vulnerable to not burst its brain. In fact, it has a sponge-like
The latest taxonomic changes divide the giraffe Extinction’. apparatus at the base of the brain to absorb
into four species. the blood. Likewise, when the giraffe suddenly
The uniquely marked ‘ivy leaf’ pattern of the raises its head it should, logically, faint as the
Our South African giraffe, formally named reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata) is limited to blood descends – but the sponge allows the
the ‘southern or reticulated giraffe’ (Giraffa the embattled region of North Africa: northern blood to flow back down gently.
giraffa giraffa) is, by far, the most plentiful.
The foundation, the world’s only institution
dedicated to monitoring the status of the
giraffe, says there were 97 562 giraffe in 2016.
Today, there are 117 173. That’s a 20% growth.

“Most importantly,” the foundation reported,
“numbers are increasing across all of the recently
defined four species. This is the first time such
trends have been reported in modern history.”
Our southern giraffe, the species found in Kruger
Park – whose south-eastern region is thought to
have the highest concentration of giraffe in the
world – is distributed throughout most parts of
southern Africa. They were decimated by hunters
and by loss of habitat throughout the 19th and
early 20th century. Today, hundreds survive in
scattered and vulnerable groups; in South Africa,
Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
The other three subspecies include the
Kordofan giraffe (G. camelopardalis antiquorum)
that live mostly up near the Equator. They exist
in fragmented populations across East, Central
and West Africa. While their numbers remain South Africa’s giraffe
precariously low, their population trend is

BLUE VALLEY NEWS • Issue 1 2022• 23