South Africa’s wildlife population inhabits mainly privately owned game reserves and approximately 20 National Parks. These are are fenced so that the wildlife are protected and can be managed for conservation. Save Giraffes Now team in South Africa are partnering with wildlife reserve managers to conduct rapid assessments of giraffe. The SGN team will use GiraffeSpotter photo-identification software to individually identify giraffe, and record the giraffe on these reserves. This vital information will be used by conservationists and researchers to understand giraffe populations, movement, and social behaviors. The information will also be used to guide anti-poaching strategies.
For each rapid assessment the small team drives the entire reserve to locate every giraffe, record their locations and numbers, and photograph the right-hand side of each giraffe. These are then uploading to the GiraffeSpotter database. GiraffeSpotter uses algorithms and pattern recognition software to analyze the patterns and distinguish between the individual animals, allowing individuals to be identified and tracked. The database is maintained and updated regularly, which helps to inform rangers, conservation managers and anti-poaching units on the distribution and location of giraffe within their wildlife reserves.
In the last three decades there has been a 40% decline in the giraffe population in Africa and giraffe species are moving from “least concerned” to “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red list of threatened species. This Rapid Assessment project will assist in getting an accurate count of the various subspecies as well as their distribution across Southern Africa as well as benefit many reserve managers on monitoring their giraffe.
Your donation supports this important research that is providing valuable information for conservation and protection of the endangered giraffe. 100% of your donation goes to on-the-ground conservation work in Africa.
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