We are amidst the largest period of species extinction in the last 60 million years. Shocking, in the last 50 years alone, the populations of all mammals, birds, reptiles and fish have fallen by an average of 60%…
With today being Earth Day, I thought I might talk a little more about some of my long legged friends back in Kenya. What many people don’t know, is that the wild animals living around the Safari Collection’s famous Giraffe Manor hotel are part of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife’s vital breeding programme for the Rothschild Giraffe, one of the three sub-species of giraffe found in Kenya. All nine sub-species of giraffe across Africa are fighting a ‘silent extinction,’ being overshadowed in the press by other endangered animals. There are approx 500,000 wild elephant left in Africa for instance, whilst there are only 90,000 giraffe!!!! I was so shocked and saddened to hear this statistic. Similar to elephant, giraffe populations have suffered dramatically from illegal hunting, habitat loss and human/wildlife conflict, and the Rothschild, in particular, have really struggled.
However, due in big part to the amazing work of the AFEW, the Rothschild population in Kenya has increased from 80 to 800 individuals in the last 30 years, with 50 of those giraffe being the babies of breeding pairs reintroduced back into the wild from the Manor’s neighbouring Giraffe Centre. My heart hurts at the thought of a world without these beautiful long lashed and even longer legged giants, and the moments spent with them are never lost on me
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make...” Dr. Jane Goodall.
In my opinion, every damn day should be Earth Day... 🌍 #ExtinctionIsForever
