# Giraffe — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Giraffa*

> Giraffes are the tallest animals on Earth and are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List; the group was split into four species in 2025, and while overall numbers are now near 117,000, some subspecies such as the Kordofan and Nubian giraffe are Critically Endangered.

**IUCN status:** Vulnerable overall — varies by species and population (Least Concern to Critically Endangered)  ·  **WARN range:** Kenya, Tanzania

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Lifespan | Up to about 38 years in the wild |
| Weight | Males average ~1,190 kg; females ~830 kg |
| Height | Up to ~5.7 m — the tallest land animal |
| Diet | Herbivore (browser) — mainly acacia and other tree foliage |
| Gestation | About 15 months (roughly 400–460 days) |
| Young | Usually a single calf per birth |
| Baby name | Calf |
| Group name | A tower (of giraffes) |
| Top speed | Around 60 km/h (37 mph) over short distances |
| CITES | Appendix II (international trade regulated, since 2019) |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Artiodactyla
- **Family:** Giraffidae
- **Genus:** Giraffa
- **Species:** Four recognised (G. camelopardalis, G. reticulata, G. tippelskirchi, G. giraffa)

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Vulnerable (group); ranges from Least Concern to Critically Endangered by species and population
- **Population:** ~117,000 across Africa (Giraffe Conservation Foundation); ~68,000 mature individuals in the 2016 IUCN assessment
- **Trend:** Decreasing overall over three generations, though several populations are now stable or recovering
- **Assessed:** 2016 (species-complex assessment); four species formally recognised by the IUCN in 2025
- **CITES:** Appendix II (listed in 2019)
- The single 'Vulnerable' category masks wide variation: the Kordofan and Nubian giraffe are Critically Endangered, while the reticulated and Masai giraffe have been assessed as Endangered. New species-level Red List assessments are underway following the 2025 reclassification.

## Key facts: Giraffe
- Giraffes are the tallest living land animals, with tall males reaching about 5.7 metres; their heart, neck, and blood vessels are among the most specialised in the animal kingdom.
- In 2025 the IUCN formally recognised four giraffe species — northern (Giraffa camelopardalis), reticulated (G. reticulata), Masai (G. tippelskirchi), and southern (G. giraffa) — replacing the long-standing single-species view.
- The group is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (2016 assessment), reflecting an estimated decline of around 30–40% over three generations.
- Conservationists call the giraffe's gradual, under-noticed loss a 'silent extinction,' because it happened with far less public attention than declines in elephants or rhinos.
- Several populations are far worse off than the overall label suggests: the Kordofan and Nubian giraffe are Critically Endangered, while the reticulated and Masai giraffe have been assessed as Endangered.
- After decades of decline, focused protection has helped some populations rebound, with the Africa-wide total now estimated near 117,000 — proof that recovery is possible where habitat and anti-poaching work are sustained.

## Are Giraffes Endangered?
As a group, giraffes are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a step below Endangered. That single category, however, masks a wide spread of outcomes across the four species recognised since 2025. The reticulated giraffe of northern Kenya and the Masai giraffe of Tanzania and southern Kenya have both been assessed as Endangered, while two northern subspecies — the Kordofan and the Nubian giraffe — are Critically Endangered, with only a few thousand individuals each. Some southern populations, by contrast, are stable or growing. The Africa-wide total is now estimated at around 117,000 animals, down from far higher historical levels but recovering in several strongholds. The honest summary is that the giraffe is not on the brink of global extinction, yet specific species and regional populations very much are.

## Why Are Giraffe Numbers Falling? The 'Silent Extinction'
The phrase 'silent extinction' captures how quietly giraffe numbers slipped away while public concern focused on more famous endangered species. The main pressures are habitat loss and fragmentation as savanna and woodland are converted to farmland and settlements; poaching for meat, hides, and tails; and the instability that comes with armed conflict and drought across parts of the giraffe's range. Because giraffes breed slowly — a cow produces a single calf after a gestation of roughly 15 months and gives birth only every year or two at best — populations recover far more slowly than they decline. Where ranges are carved into isolated fragments, small groups become genetically cut off and vulnerable to local extinction.

## How Tall Is a Giraffe, and How Does It Survive Being So Tall?
A tall adult male giraffe stands around 5.5 to 5.7 metres, with the neck alone reaching about two metres — yet, like nearly all mammals, that neck contains only seven vertebrae. Standing this tall demands extraordinary biology. A giraffe's heart is large and powerful to pump blood up to the brain, and a network of pressure-regulating blood vessels prevents it from blacking out when it raises or lowers its head to drink. Long legs let giraffes reach a top speed of around 60 km/h over short distances. Their height also lets them browse acacia and other foliage above the reach of most other herbivores, a feeding niche that shaped the species over millions of years.

## Where Do Giraffes Live?
Giraffes are found only in Africa, scattered across savanna, open woodland, and dry-land habitats south of the Sahara. Kenya and Tanzania are among the most important strongholds: Kenya holds reticulated, Masai, and Nubian giraffes, while Tanzania is a core range for the Masai giraffe and is the country whose national animal is the giraffe. Across the wider continent, populations are increasingly confined to national parks, conservancies, and protected reserves, because unprotected land is being lost to agriculture and development. The fragmentation of these ranges is one of the central challenges for giraffe conservation today.

## The four recognised giraffe species at a glance
| Species | Scientific name | Main range | Notes on status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Northern giraffe | Giraffa camelopardalis | Niger to East Africa (fragmented) | Includes the Critically Endangered Kordofan and Nubian giraffe |
| Reticulated giraffe | Giraffa reticulata | Northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, Somalia | Assessed as Endangered |
| Masai giraffe | Giraffa tippelskirchi | Tanzania and central/southern Kenya | Assessed as Endangered; large but declined population |
| Southern giraffe | Giraffa giraffa | Southern Africa, including Namibia and Botswana | Generally more stable; some populations growing |

## What WARN does
The giraffe lives in East Africa, outside the five countries — Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, and Colombia — where the World Animal Rescue Network currently funds frontline rescue and habitat work at this launch stage. We do not run or fund giraffe projects, and we will not claim otherwise. This guide is educational and search-focused content: its purpose is to raise global awareness of a species in quiet decline and to support WARN's broader mission of protecting wildlife and the habitats they depend on. The habitat-loss and wildlife-trade pressures that threaten giraffes are the same forces driving the species WARN does work to protect, which is why we believe telling this story well matters.

Giraffes fall outside the five countries WARN currently funds, so we cannot honestly say a gift here protects them directly. What your support does fund is WARN's frontline work to defend wildlife habitats and fight the illegal wildlife trade — the very pressures pushing giraffes and countless other species into decline. Backing habitat protection helps build the kind of safe, connected wild spaces that animals everywhere depend on.

## Frequently asked questions: Giraffe
### Are giraffes endangered?
As a group, giraffes are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, not Endangered. But this overall label hides serious variation: the reticulated and Masai giraffe have been assessed as Endangered, and the Kordofan and Nubian giraffe are Critically Endangered, with only a few thousand individuals each.

### How many giraffes are left in the world?
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation estimates around 117,000 giraffes remain across Africa. This is down sharply from historical levels — roughly a 30% decline over three decades — though several populations have recently begun to recover thanks to focused conservation work.

### How tall is a giraffe?
Giraffes are the tallest land animals on Earth. Tall adult males reach about 5.5 to 5.7 metres, while females are somewhat shorter. The neck alone can be around two metres long but still contains only seven vertebrae, the same number as in most other mammals.

### How many species of giraffe are there?
Since 2025, the IUCN officially recognises four giraffe species: the northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata), Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi), and southern giraffe (G. giraffa). Giraffes were previously treated as a single species with multiple subspecies.

### Why are giraffes called a 'silent extinction'?
Conservationists use the term 'silent extinction' because giraffe numbers fell substantially over decades while attracting far less public attention than declines in elephants, rhinos, or big cats. The losses were gradual and went largely unnoticed by the wider world.

### What do giraffes eat and how fast can they run?
Giraffes are browsers that feed mainly on the leaves, shoots, and flowers of trees such as acacia, using their long necks and tongues to reach foliage other herbivores cannot. Despite their size, they can reach top speeds of around 60 km/h over short distances.

## Sources
- [IUCN — Four giraffe species officially recognised (2025 press release)](https://iucn.org/press-release/202508/four-giraffe-species-officially-recognised-major-conservation-reclassification)
- [IUCN Red List — Giraffa camelopardalis assessment](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/9194/136266699)
- [IUCN — New bird species and giraffe under threat (2016 uplisting)](https://iucn.org/news/secretariat/201612/new-bird-species-and-giraffe-under-threat-%E2%80%93-iucn-red-list)
- [Giraffe Conservation Foundation — Giraffe conservation status](https://giraffeconservation.org/giraffe-conservation-status/)
- [CITES — Appendices (Giraffa, Appendix II)](https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php)
- [Wikipedia — Giraffe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/giraffe