Bristol Zoological Society takes action to help threatened giraffe

Conservationists at Bristol Zoological Society have stepped in to protect one of the world’s most threatened giraffes.

They have paid for patrols in Cameroon to help safeguard Kordofan giraffes from illegal hunting.

The move came after officials at the Bénoué National Park discovered a Kordofan giraffe that was killed for its meat and hide.

Bristol Zoological Society worked with the local park to provide nine days of emergency patrols, involving almost 60 people.

Dr Caspian Johnson, Programme Lead of Bristol Zoological Society’s Giraffe Conservation Programme, said: “As a result of these patrols more than 100 people were removed from the park for illegal activities.”

He said a total of six illegal gold mining camps were found, which often result in small settlements growing up leading to illegal hunting of wildlife. 

But he said the situation facing the Kordofan giraffe was grave, with only around 40 left in the national park and only 2,000 in the wild.

Dr Grainne McCabe, Head of Field Conservation and Science at the Society, said: “We are reaching the stage of a major ecological crisis. If the factors causing the decline of Kordofan giraffes aren’t addressed, with the current low population size, there is a risk that the subspecies could be lost in the wild in the next few decades.”

Bristol Zoological Society has been working in Bénoué National Park along with local Non-Government Organisation (NGO), Sekakoh, since 2016.

Dr Johnson said: “We are conducting extensive wildlife surveys to better understand what is happening with the giraffe and other large mammal populations, as well as the impact of illegal hunting.

“African wild dog, cheetah, and black rhino have all gone locally extinct from the park. We can’t afford to lose the Kordofan giraffe as well.”

Bristol Zoological Society is also working with Bristol University to develop drones capable of tracking and identifying individual giraffe and pinpointing where they live.

Dr Johnson said the work was in its early stages but if it is successful it would make a huge difference in helping to conserve giraffes.

With support from the National Geographic Society and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUNCN), the team at Bristol Zoological Society are implementing workshops for the eco-guards, which train them in novel technologies to record illegal activity,  and to help them more effectively patrol the park. 

Wild Place Project, which like Bristol Zoo Gardens, is run by Bristol Zoological Society, is home to three male giraffe. The trio play an important role in the future for their species and raise awareness of the plight the species faces in the wild.

To find out more about Bristol Zoological Society’s vital conservation work, both in the UK and overseas go to bristolzoo.org.uk.