According to recent reports, wild giraffe populations have grown 20 percent since 2015, with around 117,000 individual giraffe documented. But, there’s still work to be done. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorizes giraffe as vulnerable to extinction, while two northern subspecies are considered critically endangered, and Masai and reticulated giraffe (the subspecies found at CMZoo) are endangered. Thus far there has been limited research and conservation efforts on wild giraffe, so the extent of their conservation threats are often undetermined.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has partnered with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation to support much-needed field research on the different giraffe subspecies and to help with multiple conservation strategies. Since 2016, the Zoo has provided financial support and a staff veterinarian to help Operation Twiga translocate Rothschild’s giraffe in Uganda back to a historic home range across the Nile River. The Zoo continues to support Operation Twiga and giraffe conservation; read below for the latest news.
You can visit reticulated giraffe at the Zoo in African Rift Valley
Learn about our International Center for the Care & Conservation of Giraffe
