Conservation Status
Are Giraffes Endangered? The 2025 Answer, by Species
Are giraffes endangered? It depends on the species. See each giraffe's 2025 conservation status, why the answer changed, and what actually protects them.
Giraffe article library
35 guides built for understanding and action.
Species, conservation status, habitat, threats, ranger work, field science, physiology, taxonomy, and practical ways to help—all connected to the nonprofit mission.
Conservation Status
5 articlesConservation Status
How Many Giraffes Are Left in the World? (2025)
About 140,700 giraffes remain in Africa in 2025. See the population of each species, how they are counted, and why three of four species are rising.
Conservation Status
State of Giraffe 2025: What the Latest Report Says
A plain-English digest of State of Giraffe 2025 — the four-species recognition, per-species numbers, why three of four are rising, and what stays fragile.
Conservation Status
What Threatens Giraffes? The Drivers of Decline
Habitat loss, poaching, conflict, climate, and disease all threaten giraffes — but differently by species. How each threat works and what stops it.
Conservation Status
The Extinction Clock: Our Methodology (and Why It's a Scenario)
How The Last Giraffe's extinction clock is calculated — a transparent historical-rate scenario reaching zero in 2063, not a prediction. And why we still show it.
Species & Taxonomy
3 articlesSpecies & Taxonomy
The Four Giraffe Species, Explained (2025 IUCN Update)
In 2025 the IUCN recognised four giraffe species, not one. Meet the northern, reticulated, Masai, and southern giraffe — and why the change matters.
Species & Taxonomy
Giraffe Taxonomy and Genetics: The Science Behind Four Species
How DNA rewrote giraffe classification into four species, what the binomial names mean, and why getting giraffe identity right decides how they're saved.
Species & Taxonomy
Giraffe vs Okapi: The Only Two Giraffids Left
The okapi is the giraffe's only living relative — a "forest giraffe" with zebra-striped legs. How they're alike, how they differ, and why both need protecting.
Learn & Act
6 articlesLearn & Act
Giraffe Facts: The Complete, Sourced Guide (2025)
The complete guide to giraffes — height, neck, heart, tongue, spots, babies, species, and how many are left. Real, sourced facts, updated for 2025.
Learn & Act
Why Giraffes Matter: Ecology, Economy, and the Moral Case
Giraffes aren't just iconic — they're ecosystem engineers, an economic asset, and a flagship for protecting whole African landscapes. Why they're worth saving.
Learn & Act
How to Help Giraffes: A Practical, Honest Guide
Real ways to help giraffes — fund habitat and rangers, support credible groups, and vet any wildlife charity with this checklist before you give.
Learn & Act
Giraffe Facts for Kids: 15 Amazing, True Facts
Fun, accurate giraffe facts for kids and classrooms — how tall they are, their 45 cm tongue, seven neck bones like yours, baby giraffes, and how to help.
Learn & Act
Giraffe Conservation Organisations: Who Does What
An honest map of the giraffe conservation world — GCF, IUCN, Save Giraffes Now, Wild Nature Institute, CITES, and more — and how to read their authority.
Learn & Act
Giraffe Conservation Glossary: 40 Key Terms
A clear A–Z of giraffe and conservation terms — species vs subspecies, ossicone, rete mirabile, translocation, silent extinction, SMART, Red List, and more.
Species Profiles
4 articlesSpecies Profiles
Northern Giraffe: Conservation Profile (2025)
The northern giraffe is the world's most threatened giraffe, with ~7,037 left. Its subspecies, range, threats, and the recovery already underway.
Species Profiles
Reticulated Giraffe: Conservation Profile (2025)
The reticulated giraffe — the "net-patterned" giraffe of northern Kenya — numbers ~20,901 and is rising. Its range, threats, and conservation.
Species Profiles
Masai Giraffe: Conservation Profile (2025)
The Masai giraffe is the largest giraffe, ~43,926 strong across East Africa. Its subspecies, vine-leaf coat, threats, and the science tracking it.
Species Profiles
Southern Giraffe: Conservation Profile (2025)
The southern giraffe is conservation's success story — ~68,837 animals, up ~50% in five years. Its subspecies, range, and what drove the recovery.
Habitat & Range
1 articlesHabitat & Range
Where Do Giraffes Live? Habitat and Range
Giraffes live only in Africa — in savanna, woodland, and dryland, never jungle. Where each of the four species lives, and why corridors decide their future.
Biology & Science
10 articlesBiology & Science
How Tall Is a Giraffe? Height, Weight, and Size
How tall is a giraffe? Males reach ~5.5 m (18 ft), females ~4.3–4.6 m. Full size, weight, and newborn stats — plus why being this tall is so costly.
Biology & Science
Why Do Giraffes Have Long Necks? The Real Science
Not just for high leaves. The competing scientific theories for the giraffe's long neck — feeding, sexual selection, thermoregulation — and what the evidence says.
Biology & Science
What Do Giraffes Eat? The Giraffe Diet Explained
Giraffes are browsers that eat up to 30 kg of leaves a day, mostly acacia. What giraffes eat, how they handle thorns, and why browse loss threatens them.
Biology & Science
The Giraffe Heart: Highest Blood Pressure of Any Mammal
A giraffe's 11 kg heart pumps blood 2 m up to the brain at ~280/180 mmHg — twice human pressure. How the rete mirabile and leg skin make it survivable.
Biology & Science
The Giraffe Tongue: How Long, and Why It's Dark
A giraffe's tongue is 45–50 cm long, prehensile, and dark purple-blue. Why it's that long, why it's that colour, and how it strips leaves from thorns.
Biology & Science
Giraffe Spots: The Science of the Coat Pattern
Every giraffe's spots are unique like a fingerprint, differ by species, are inherited, and may cool the body. How coat patterns power giraffe research.
Biology & Science
Baby Giraffes: Birth, the 2-Metre Drop, and Survival
A baby giraffe is called a calf. Born after a 15-month pregnancy, it drops ~2 m at birth and stands within an hour. Why calf survival decides the species' future.
Biology & Science
How Long Do Giraffes Live? Giraffe Lifespan Explained
Giraffes live about 25 years in the wild and up to 28+ in human care. Why wild lifespans are shorter, and how researchers actually track a giraffe's age.
Biology & Science
Giraffe Behaviour and Social Structure (Not So Aloof)
Giraffes live in complex, matrilineal "fission-fusion" societies, communicate with infrasound, barely sleep, and run 60 km/h. The real social life of giraffes.
Biology & Science
What Eats a Giraffe? Giraffe Predators Explained
Lions are the main predator of adult giraffes, but a giraffe's kick can kill a lion. Calves face the real danger. What hunts giraffes — and the bigger threat.
Field Conservation
6 articlesField Conservation
Giraffe Conservation Works: The 2025 Evidence
Three of four giraffe species are rising because conservation works. What actually drove the recovery — habitat, conservancies, rangers, data — and how.
Field Conservation
Protecting Giraffe Habitat: The Whole Game
Giraffes need land, browse, and open corridors. How purchase, leases, conservancies, corridor work, and drought planning protect giraffe habitat — done right.
Field Conservation
Rangers and Anti-Poaching: How Giraffes Are Kept Safe
Rangers and community scouts are how giraffe protection actually happens — patrols, snare removal, SMART data, and the community trust that makes it work.
Field Conservation
The Science of Giraffe Translocations
Moving giraffes can rebuild lost populations — but it's high-stakes conservation medicine. How translocations work, the real risks, and what must be true first.
Field Conservation
How Do You Count Giraffes? Survey Methods Explained
Counting giraffes across vast landscapes is hard. Aerial surveys, photo-ID, mark-recapture, GPS collars, and why every giraffe estimate is a best estimate.
Field Conservation
Giraffe Health and Veterinary Conservation
Disease, snare wounds, drought stress, and the risks of moving a giraffe — why wildlife veterinary science is a quiet but vital part of saving giraffes.