Poaching and habitat loss have caused giraffe populations to decline in Africa., according to Julian Fennessy from the Namibian-based Giraffe Conservation Research, and their decline has been largely unnoticed.

Fennessy says that this can be called as a "silent extinction" as an assessment of the giraffe populations that will be released next year shows that the population dropped 40 percent over the last 15 years.

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Fennessy details the findings that the numbers went significantly down from 140,000 to less than 80,000 to date. Giraffes are indigenous to 21 countries in Africa among national parks and communal and private lands. However, two out of nine subspecies have been classified under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List. 

The decline has been caused mainly by the land used by humans for agriculture where the giraffes are driven away from their natural habitat. Also, poaching and hunting of the animals have increased where in countries such as Tanzania, there is a belief that eating giraffe can cure AIDS. Giraffe hides are also used as clothing such as hats and shoes says Zoe Muller from the Rothschild Giraffe Project.

Conservationists point out that compared to rhinos and elephants, giraffes are less likely to be worried about when it comes to extinction. David O'Connor, research coordinator from the San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research says that giraffes are easily visible in books and zoo collections, that's why people don't think they need to worry about them. 

Scientists also admit that giraffes weren't given much attention in the last five years or so compared to other African animal species. Although O'Connor says that learning more about the giraffe's ecology can be helpful in conservation efforts.

Even if giraffes are somewhat neglected, there's good news especially in Niger where the West African giraffe subspecies have rebounded from 50 in the 1990s to 400 to date.

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