Saving Rothschild's, the friendly giant

East Africa is acclaimed as the cradle of humanity. Now the region could claim yet another honour — the epicentre of the giraffe population of the world.

In particular, Kenya takes pride of place as the only country in the world where three of the nine giraffe sub-species are found — the Maasai, the Reticulated and the Rothschild’s.

Of the three, the Rothschild’s is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered, and could soon become extinct in the wild.

There are only 650 such giraffes in the wild today. Ten per cent of them are in Soysambu Conservancy on the shores of Lake Elmenteita in the Great Rift Valley.

Until recently, giraffes were common in Kenya — and in most of Africa. But a rapid increase in human population, coupled with habitat loss and an increase in the bushmeat trade, has seen the world’s tallest mammal seek refuge in protected areas.

Over the past 10 years, there has been a 30 per cent decline in giraffe population. The figure is set to increase. This is the reason research and conservation are important in safeguarding the world’s tallest animal.

The Rothschild’s giraffe fared the worst after Kenya’s Independence in 1963. Huge ranches in western Kenya around Soi were subdivided and sold, leaving the Rothschild’s giraffe with no habitat. The giraffe was endemic there.

The Maasai giraffe covers a larger range south of the Equator, while the Reticulated giraffe is found in the drylands of the north.

Both the Reticulated giraffe of northern Kenya and the Masaai giraffe of southern Kenya are facing challenges, too. Loss of habitat is widespread, hence the decline in their populations.

Although giraffes have no competition for food resources with other browsers, (they can reach 20 feet high), very few are found outside protected areas due to human-wildlife conflict.

Only an adult elephant could possibly compete for food with a giraffe, but even then it would have to stand on its hind legs and reach up with its trunk.

The most common reason for the drop in giraffe numbers is pressure from farming and modern land practices. Poaching is also common in northern Kenya, where the graceful giants are killed for their meat and hide.

What mainly differentiates a Rothschild’s giraffe from other giraffe species is that the males have five “horns” jutting out of the head, while their legs, below the knees, are white, making them look as if they are wearing white stockings.

The species could very easily have been wiped out but for the fact that a breeding herd was brought to Nairobi’s Giraffe Centre by Betty Leslie-Melville and her late husband, Jock.

Many successful generations have since been sired at the acacia-forested grove on the foothills of the Ngong Hills and subsequently translocated to other sanctuaries in Kenya.